Count Olaf Must Die!
by AndrewK9000
Summary: The Baudelaire Orphans meet their new guardian: Jill Sparrow of the Ramblers. Meanwhile, Max Kildare & the other Ramblers are ordered to kill Olaf.
1. Chapter 1: The Next Mission

Greetings fellow readers and writers! Wow! My fourth fic! This time around, we're visiting the world of Lemony Snicket's 'A Series of Unfortunate Events.' I'm not much of a fan of the books, but the movie was great. IMHO, Jim Carry was born to play the role of Olaf. So this story is my follow up to the movie, featuring my creation(s), Max Kildare and the Ramblers. Time wise, it takes place about two weeks after the end of my first story 'Harry Potter: Quest for the Horcruxes.' Now I don't own 'A Series of Unfortunate Events,' what I do own are all the original characters we'll meet in the story. And now, on with the show!

PRE-STORY ARGUMENT

The ending of this story is neither happy or sad, but rather neutral. I won't say anything more so not to spoil the story. This story doesn't contain first person views of teenage wizards, fairies aliens or dragons. Nor does it contain epic adventure sequences. If you're looking for such a story, I'm sure they're other fan written stories a few web pages away. However, if you like fan written stories about secret government agencies, Meta-Humans, bounty hunters, the struggle for free energy and ghostly possessions, then I'm sure you'll enjoy…

**COUNT OLAF MUST DIE!**

**By AndrewK9000**

Chapter 1: The Next Mission

The time: Mid-September 2007. The place, somewhere in the southeast United States of America…

Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire sat in the back seat of Mr. Poe's car, heading towards their new guardian. But we'll get to them later….

At 3:00 a.m. Pacific Daylight Savings Time, Max Kildare, a 5'7" Caucasian male with brown hair and brown eyes, checked his watch for the tenth time that hour, as he sat in the lobby of LAX outside Los Angeles for his flight back east to Washington D.C. After a two week vacation in Hawaii, the 24 year old Meta-Human was anxious to get back to work protecting the human race from demonic threats, as well as un-dead threats and other things supernatural which threatened mankind. That and other objectives, is the mission of The Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense.

What Max was most anxious for was to see how his longtime friend and fellow Meta-Human Leon Smyth-Falcon, a.k.a. 'Cajun Man' was doing. A few months ago, Leon was bitten on the hand by what was at first classified as a zombie. Leon was teleported back to Bureau headquarters to be cryogenically frozen, in hopes that a cure for Solanum, a.k.a the Necro-Virus could be found.

As it turned out, the zombie that bit Leon wasn't your standard zombie at all. It was an Infiri, a reanimated cadaver controlled by a powerful necromancer/wizard, in this case, the late 'Lord' Voldemort, a.k.a. 'The Dark Lord;' 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named;' 'You-Know-Who…' you get the idea.

With no trace of Solanum found in said Infiri, Leon was brought out of frozen sleep not too long ago, in perfect health. Leon resented Max for freezing him for nothing, but Max didn't care. Leon was one of the first Meta-Humans to join the advanced tactical strike team put together by the Bureau back in 1999, codenamed The Ramblers. Being a Rambler meant that your life expectancy was rather low.

Having survived eight years and more missions than he'd care to count, Max Kildare was just glad that his friend was going to live. His musings over Leon were interrupted by the appearance of two USA government agents in full black suits and sunglasses, even though it was three in the morning. "Max Kildare?" asked one of the agents.

"Who wants to know?" asked Max. "NSA," said the other agent, holding up his badge, "You are Max Kildare, are you?" "I am," said Max, "What can I do for the National Security Agency at three in the morning?" "Sir," said the first agent, "Our orders are to make sure that you are put in contact with Washington as soon as possible." "Is there an emergency?" asked Max, for whenever Washington needed to talk to him a.s.a.p, it usually meant something horrible had happened that needed his special attention.

"We're not at liberty to discuss the details," said the second agent, "Our orders ate to get you back to Washington immediately." Max checked his watch for the eleventh time, "My flight's not due for another hour." "We have a special plane prepped and ready for you," said the first agent, "Your luggage is being loaded as we speak." "Such wonderful service," said Max sarcastically, "If only it applied to the rest of the nation."

As the crow flies, the distance between L.A. and D.C. is roughly 3,200 miles. The 'special' plane Max was flying on had a cruising speed of about Mach 5, about 3,750 mph. This allowed Max to be back in Washington D.C. in less than an hour, arriving just after 7:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Savings Time. Upon exiting the plane, Max was met by none other than the head of the Bureau, David 'Diamond Dave' Callahan; a 6'4" male from New York City with dark brown hair and gray eyes.

"Glad you made it back in good time," said Callahan, "How was Hawaii?" "Cooler than normal for this time of year," said Max, "Which suited me fine. Now what's so important that the NSA had to come fetch me?" "I'll tell you on the way back to headquarters," said Callahan, "This is a matter of national security."

"You and your team have done wonders for the human race," said Callahan while he and Max were in Callahan's private limo, en route to downtown Washington, "That last one in Great Briton was awe inspiring." "I wouldn't exactly call stopping a megalomaniac like Voldemort awe inspiring," said Max, "But we do what we can." "I know it was a tough mission," said Callahan, "And we all appreciate what you and the Ramblers have done. But now I've got another mission for you and your team. This one straight from the President himself."

"And what does the President what me to do?" asked Max. "It's more like a request," said Callahan, "And don't say yes until I tell you the details." Max listened to what Callahan had to say, nodding every now and then. When they'd reached Bureau headquarters, Max got out while Callahan stayed in the car, "I've got other matters to attend to," said Callahan, "You're getting some new recruits soon."

"After what happened to Ken, Skeater and Fay," said Max, "My team could benefit from some new blood. And don't worry about the others, when I explain the circumstances of the mission, they'll all be for it." He closed the car door and entered the building.

Bureau Headquarters was located in what at first appeared to be an ordinary 4-story office building in downtown Washington D.C. It was an office building. However, when Max swiped his security card next to an elevator, entered a 12-digit code onto the keypad, had his palm scanned and spoke the voice code; "9-3-4 Texas," a female electronic voice said "Access Granted! Welcome Max Kildare." The elevator opened, he pressed the lone button, and the elevator took him several stories underground.

He exited the elevator to another set of offices, mainly full of bureau agents monitoring the world for signs of paranormal activity. At the main control room the clerks told Max where three members of his team were in the complex; Laura Hurst was in her office talking to her parents, Steve Austin was in the Gravity Room training at 38 times Earth's normal gravity, while Virgil Blake was in one of the Bureau's many lab's working on a project of his.

Max had all three paged to meet him in the main conference room. First to arrive was Laura. At 5'4" Laura wouldn't strike anyone as dangerous. However, this amber eyed 18.5 year old from Denver was one of the most powerful telekinetic beings on the planet. The downside was that her power depended on her emotions, if Laura got too angry, she could tear a hole in the fabric of reality.

Virgil came in next. He wore a white lab coat and dark wraparound sunglasses. He hardly ever took off the sunglasses, for behind them were robotic eyes. His real eyes were burned out on a previous mission. "How are the new eyes working?" asked Max, for not too long ago, Virgil's cyber eyes exploded in the heat of battle, leaving him blind for several days until new ones could be implanted. "They're working better than the old ones," said Virgil, "I'm seeing better than ever."

"Anyone seen Maria?" asked Steve as he came in, the reek of sweat pouring from his body. Steve had auburn hair and brown eyes, not the smartest apple in the barrel, but you can't deny his courage. "You know Steve," said Virgil, "You had time to get a shower before coming to the meeting." "Max said he wanted to see us right now," said Steve, "I can always shower later." "I just hope my nose survives the experience." Said Laura.

"Well the sooner I can talk," said Max, "The sooner we can start. First thing's first, we're getting four new Meta-Humans tomorrow. Since D.P. is training to get use to his new arm," D.P. having had his arm torn out by Voldemort, "And Jill's in Miami under the care of Doc Spartan, it'll be up to the four of us to put the new fish through the paces."

"Great!" exclaimed Steve, "I'm no longer the new guy!" "Feels like you've been here forever." Said Virgil. "Anyway," said Max, trying to keep Steve and Virgil from baiting each other, "There's one more thing I need to talk to you. What do you know about 'Count' Olaf?" "Only what I've read and seen in the news," said Laura, "A former stage actor turned serial killer, a self proclaimed master of disguise."

"Well he may claim to be a master of disguise," said Virgil, "But Olaf has yet to be caught by law enforcement personnel, despite several attempts at capture." "The fact that those who have taken on the task of catching the f#cker are a bunch of incompetent bastards," said Steve, "doesn't help at all."

"Exactly," said Max, "Olaf has made a mockery of state and local police, as well as the efforts of the FBI, CIA and the NSA. As it turns out, Olaf has incurred the wrath of our President. As you know, each administration is allowed to secretly order the deaths of three individuals per term, no more than three." "And since next year is an election year," said Laura, "It's use them or lose them."

"He's got two left," said Virgil, "Since we were ordered to kill Voldemort." "I don't know if that one counted," said Steve, "Remember, Harry Potter killed Voldemort." "Well you helped hold Voldemort still while Harry charged his attack," said Virgil, "So that one does count." "Moving along," said Max, "Callahan told me on the way here that the President had signed the order last night. We've been assigned this mission because, to use Callahan's words, 'We're the best at getting the job done, whatever the job is.'

"Glad to know the big boss is so confident in our abilities," said Laura, "So, we're going actor hunting." "Exactly," said Max, "No matter how long it takes, no matter the cost, Count Olaf must die!" "Sounds sweet to me!" exclaimed Steve, "I think I'll go get that shower now." "Thank you very much!" exclaimed Virgil.

As Steve left the room, followed by Virgil, Max noticed that Laura had stood up, but wasn't heading for the door. "Something wrong Laura?" asked Max, "Something about the mission bothering you?" "Believe me," said Laura, "I want nothing more than to see this madman dead. But what's bugging me is something else. Ever since we got back from England, I've been sensing something weird in the building, something inside Bureau headquarters."

Max said nothing for a moment before saying, "Well if the feeling gets any stronger, let me know." "Of course," said Laura, "You'll be the first to know."

The end of chapter 1. Next chapter, we change scenes to look in on others who are out to kill Olaf. See you next time!


	2. Chapter 2: Other Hunters

Last time, Max Kildare returned from his vacation in Hawaii to be escorted back to Washington D.C. by the NSA. He was met by Bureau head Callahan; who gave Max the next mission for the Ramblers: kill 'Count' Olaf at all costs. On with the show!

Chapter 2: Other Hunters

Somewhere in the lonely emptiness that is western Texas, lay a large ramshackle building, which served as a bar. Said bar was frequented by several of the toughest, meanest bounty hunters in the country. This was the kind of bar that you'd want to avoid, unless you enjoy the company of bounty hunters, or were expecting to get into a fight with one.

The interior had all the usual stuff you'd find in a sports bar; pool tables, pinball machines, jukeboxes and a hazy cloud of cigarette smoke. The one difference was that on all the TV. screens dotting the bar that would normally display sports shows, these screens showed information on criminals at large, fugitives, and other things related to catching felons.

At that time the bar was empty except for the bartender and three bounty hunters, two men and a woman, each sitting at the bar watching the screens for information on new targets. They were:

Name: Sally-Ann Carpenter AKA 'Shotgun Sally'

Age: 22

Height: 5'6"

Birthday: April 28

Zodiac sign: Taurus

Blood type: AB-

Hair: Dark brown, shoulder length

Eyes: Bluish green

Weapon of choice: Shotguns; pump action and double barrel

Name: Zack Sawyer AKA 'Dynamo'

Age: 19.5

Height: 5'9"

Birthday: January 12

Zodiac sign: Capricorn

Blood type: B+

Hair: Dark blond, short

Eyes: brown

Weapon of choice: Advanced armor suit which responds to his thoughts; containing machine guns, rocket launchers, net and dart launchers… ect.

Also skilled at computer hacking

Name Michael Long, or just Mike

Age: 21

Height: 5'11"

Birthday: June 19

Zodiac sign: Gemini

Blood type: O+

Hair: Light brown, short

Eyes: Hazel

Weapon of choice: Twin energy swords, one green one blue

These three bounty hunters, though young, had earned a reputation for getting the job done. They had worked together on and off in the past, mostly because it suited them to do so. Partly they were driven by the need to bring criminals to justice, partly for the excitement and partly for the money.

It was at that time that the TV screens announced that a large bounty was just issued by an anonymous provider. On the screen was a hand drawn sketch of a man who appeared to be in his late sixties to early seventies. He was almost bald with gray hair in the back, and a uni-brow on his forehead. The information listed on the screen that this man, 'Count' Olaf, could be identified by a tattoo of an eye on his left ankle. Also stated was that the target was a 'master' of disguise and has eluded capture by civilian and government law enforcement agencies. The reward stated for Olaf's capture was listed at $500,000, dead or alive (preferably dead).

"Look at that," said Sally-Ann, "Half a million just to bring in an old fart." "Someone must really hate that man to put up such a large reward," said Zack, "Or must be really nuts." "Whatever the reason for the reward," said Michael, "The facts are clear. This Olaf is a fugitive." "Several counts of first degree murder;" said Zack as he read the list of charges from the screen, "One count of conspiracy to commit murder; several counts of second and third degree murder; multiple counts of kidnapping; one count of arson; one count of conspiracy to commit arson; multiple counts of fraud; and one count of attempted rape of a minor. This guy sounds more crazy than Charlie Manson."

"More like 'The Son of Sam,'" said Sally-Ann, "Or Ted Bundy." "I don't care how crazy this Olaf is," said Mike, "He ran from the law and the law couldn't catch him. Now it's up to us, The Bounty Hunters Guild of America to catch him before he kills again." "It says that he was last seen near Portland, Maine," said Zack, "heading towards the south."

"You three thinking of teaming up again?" asked the bartender. "Split the reward?" "Now why would we even think of splitting $500,000 three ways?" asked Sally-Ann, "It wouldn't make much of a round number." "It would come to approximately $166,666.67 each," said Zack, "Plus or minus a few pennies."

"I've got a better idea than teaming up," said Sally-Ann, "How about a bet. If I catch Olaf before either of you two, you'll each have to buy me one thing of whatever I want." "What if I catch him first?" asked Michael, "Or Zack does?" "If you win," said Sally-Ann, "Then Zack and I will each buy you one thing of whatever you want. Same goes if Zack catches him."

"What happens if someone else catches Olaf first?" asked Zack. "Then the bet is null and void," answered Sally-Ann, "It's as simple as that." "Sounds fair to me," said Zack, "You in Mike?" "I'm not that much of a gambler," said Michael, "But since the stakes deal in whatever comes to our minds, then I'm in." The three shook each other's hand, paid for their drinks and left the bar.

The next morning, (each having taken an oath to never drink and drive) the three bounty hunters headed northeast. Zack in his car drove towards Boston; Sally-Ann in her car drove to Philadelphia; while Michael on his motorcycle rode to New York City. Each heading for their respective contacts in their destinations, looking for information on the whereabouts of their target, 'Count' Olaf.

Meanwhile, in the wilds of North Dakota…

The creature known only as Man-Thing stood beside the bloody remains of its latest kill. Neither human nor demon, Man-Thing's goal in live was the elimination of all evil, all of it. This meant taking the lives of all who it considered to be evil. Man-Thing was judge, jury and executioner, all in one bipedal package. It wore a mask that gave it the appearance of a normal human male, and it changed its masks on a regular basis, making it difficult to catch, for Man-Thing was a vigilantly, the perfect assassin. No one has ever seen it's true face and lived. Man-Thing only took its mask off when it was ready to kill its latest victim.

The creature reached into its pocket to pull out a cell phone. Man-Thing dialed a secure number to its contact to inform of its latest kill. On the other end of the line, an electronically altered voice, Man-Thing couldn't tell if the voice was male or female, congratulated Man-Thing on another job well done. "Another fugitive from the law has expired," said the voice, "Good work Man-Thing."

"This one was easy," hissed Man-Thing, using its real voice, a voice that could be changed to sound more like a human one, "Too easy for my taste. I desire a challenge." "Then you shall have one," said the voice, "Have you ever heard the name 'Count' Olaf?" "I have," hissed Man-Thing, "A worthless waste of flesh who laughs at justice." "Well this waste of flesh," continued the voice, "Has eluded capture for some time. He considers himself a 'master' of disguise, and he maybe better at blending in than you."

"We'll just see about that," hissed Man-Thing, "Any leads on his location?" "Olaf was last seen heading south from Portland, Maine," said the voice, "He could be anywhere in New England by now, or even further south. I suggest you head east." "Then east I shall go," hissed Man-Thing as it disconnected the call, it turned east, saying to itself, "Wherever you are Olaf, I'm coming for you. My true face shall be the last thing you ever see as I tear your flesh apart!"

The end of chapter 2. Next chapter, Violet, Klaus and Sunny meet their new guardian; Jill Sparrow. See you next time!


	3. Chapter 3: Responsibilities

Last time, we encountered three bounty hunters who made a bet between them selves on whom would catch Olaf first. We also met an assassin who was neither man nor demon. This 'Man-Thing' was also after the head of Olaf. On with the show!

Chapter 3: Responsibilities

Miami, Florida; the next morning…

Doctor Aaron Spartan watched as his patient 'Captain' Jill Sparrow rode the surf off of Miami Beach. A brilliant young doctor from Canada, Aaron was often at wits end at what his charges are involved in. Case in point: Jill had recently suffered serious spinal damage. Her back was in a delicate state, and would be for some time afterwards. Even now, she could collapse in agony from even the lightest trauma to her spine.

Jill wasn't worried at all. 'Being a Meta-Human has its benefits' she would say after her recovery. Besides, she wasn't going to let a 'minor' back injury keep her from her three greatest passions: Fencing, surfing and keeping the world safe from paranormal threats.

As the tide began to go out, she returned to the beach. At age 23, Jill was a vision of a goddess in her one-piece green swimsuit, her long black hair gleaming in the bright sunlight. She began to dry herself with a towel as Aaron said to her, "I still think it's too soon for you to be doing anything strenuous. One wipeout and you could lose all use of your legs." "And such lovely legs they are," said Jill in a British accent, marking her as a native born Londoner, "It'd be a shame if anything were to happen to them."

"Be serious will you!" complained Aaron, "Your back is still in a delicate state. Now I've given you my opinion, and you've heard the opinions of other doctors. Yet, you're still willing to risk it all out on the water." "What do you want me to do?" asked Jill, "Sit in a hospital all day and twiddle my thumbs?" "I just want you to be careful," said Aaron, "That's all."

Just then a large jeep stopped beside Jill and Aaron. A man in a black suit and wearing sunglasses got out. "Is there a 'Captain' Jill Sparrow here?" asked the man. "That's me," said Jill "Is there a problem?" "This is for you," said the man as he handed Jill an official looking envelope, "You've been served." He returned to his Jeep and drove off.

"What is it?" asked Aaron, "Jury Duty?" "No," said Jill as she opened the envelope, "I've already done Jury Duty this year. This is from DCFS, Department of Children's Federal Services." She read the letter from the envelope, "I'll be damned!" she exclaimed with surprise, "I'm the new guardian for Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire!"

That afternoon, Jill, now dressed in slacks and collared shirt, stood in front to the Miami Federal Courthouse with Aaron. "What is your connection to the Baudelaire Orphans?" asked Aaron. "Well," said Jill, "Their parents and my family go way back. I've known Violet and Klaus since they were born. I haven't seen them in almost five years. I doubt they'd remember me. Violet must be 15 by now, Klaus 13 and their younger sister Sunny, she's just over 2."

"I've heard about them in the news," said Aaron, "Their parents were murdered by the so called 'Count' Olaf. They have gone through hell on earth if half of what the things Olaf has done to kill them is true." "If I were made their guardian from the start," said Jill, "Olaf would have never gotten within twenty feet of them."

On their way up the courthouse stairs, Jill informed Aaron about what made Violet, Klaus and Sunny so special; Violet was a prodigy at inventing. Whenever Violet tied her long brown hair up with a ribbon, you could tell that she was working on something that would better mankind. "Give her a toolkit and random pieces of junk," said Jill, "And Violet will produce wonders."

Klaus had the uncanny ability to remember everything he had ever read. "Given the chance," said Jill, "Klaus could memorize the Library of Congress from A to Z." Sunny talent was biting, something that has proven extremely useful in past encounters with Olaf. She was at an age where most children were still learning to talk. However, Sunny seemed to understand what people were saying to her, while Klaus and Violet seemed to understand what she was saying, even though other people couldn't.

Upon entering the courthouse, Jill spotted a rater portly man in a tweed suit. He seemed to be suffering from a cold, summer or otherwise. "Ah, Miss Jill Sparrow I presume?" asked the man. "You are correct sir," said Jill pleasantly, "I assume you are Mr. Poe." "Quite right," said Mr. Poe, "May I ask who this is?" "Doctor Aaron Spartan MD," said Aaron, "I'm Jill's physician and friend. What you say to her, you can say to me." "Very well then," said Mr. Poe, "Now, as executor of the Baudelaire estate, and manager of financial matters of said estate, there are a few things that need to be discussed while signing the adoption papers."

"That can wait," said Jill, "Can I see the children?" "Well," said Mr. Poe hesitantly, "Of course." He led Jill into a waiting room where Violet, Klaus and Sunny were waiting. "My god!" exclaimed Jill, "Violet! You look so much like your mother." "I do?" asked Violet, who promptly blushed in embarrassment. "Almost to the letter," said Jill, "Except the eyes, you have your father's eyes."

"I doubt you'd remember me," said Jill, "The last time I saw you was almost five years ago." "I remember," said Violet, "You would visit our house at least five times a year." "That's right," said Klaus, "You would bring Violet some sort of broken gadget to take apart, and you'd give me a random book." " I certainly did. And you Klaus," said Jill turning to Klaus, "You are on your way to becoming a great romancer." "You think so?" asked Klaus somewhat nervously. "Absolutely," said Jill, "The girls are gonna throw themselves at your feet one day."

"And there's little Sunny," said Jill bending down to look at Sunny, "So small, yet so brave." At that point, Sunny said something incoherent, but Violet and Klaus understood that she said 'I do what I can when I can.' "Well then," said Jill, "I think we should have some time to get to know each other. If you'd be so kind, Mr. Poe as to leave the room, that'd be wonderful. You too Aaron."

When Mr. Poe and Aaron left, Klaus asked Jill, "Are you and Aaron together or something?" "Oh no!" exclaimed Jill, "He's just my doctor. I recently recovered from a serious back injury, nothing for you to worry about. I heal rather quickly." "Aunt Jill," said Violet, but then Jill said, "Just call me Jill, just plain Jill." "Well, Jill," said Violet, "why are you doing this? I mean, we actually know you, unlike our previous caretakers, but why are you helping us?"

"First of all," said Jill, "I know what it's like to have someone you love taken away from you. I should know, but that's not the subject now. Second, your parents and my family have deep relations that go back many years. Third, I'm the kind of person who takes responsibilities such as adopting three orphans seriously. Fourth and most importantly, you three are safer under my care than you can possibly imagine."

"How so?" asked Klaus. "Lets just say," said Jill, "That if I were made your guardian from the beginning, that no good, murdering, fraud Olaf would never have gotten within twenty feet of you." With that said, Sunny said something that Violet and Klaus understood to be 'Get outta town!' "Oh you don't believe me?" asked Jill whom thought she understood what Sunny was implying, "Well let's just see that creep Olaf try to getting past me! I'd tear him a new one faster than you can say 'Captain Jack Sparrow!'"

One hour later Jill had finished going through all the legal red tape. With the final papers signed, witnessed by Aaron, Jill was the new guardian of Violet, Klaus and Sunny. "Now that that's all settled," said Jill happily, "I think the time has come for some indulgence. Tonight we shall dine at the best Miami has to offer. Then tomorrow, it's off to my apartment in Washington D.C." As they prepared to leave the courthouse, Jill said, "Before we leave, I'd like to have a word with Mr. Poe alone."

As Jill talked with Mr. Poe, Aaron said to Violet and Klaus, "You kids are more lucky than you know. You couldn't have picked a better foster parent." "How do you know?" asked Klaus. "I'm not allowed to go into details," said Aaron, "But Jill and her friends have done more for the world than you can possibly imagine" "What does that mean?" asked Violet. "I can't tell you," said Aaron, "But I'm sure you'll figure it out soon."

Meanwhile Jill was listening to what Mr. Poe had to say, and she was rather irked. "I shall check on the children in a week," said Mr. Poe, "To evaluate how they're coping in their new situation." "That's fine," said Jill, "But I doubt your services will be necessary anymore." "I doubt that," said Mr. Poe, "I am the executor of the Baudelaire estate." "A job that you should never have had," said Jill, "If it were known about the real you." "Just what are you implying Miss Sparrow?" asked Mr. Poe. "You damn know what I'm implying," snapped Jill, "You sir, are an incompetent moron who can't tell the difference between someone's real face from someone who's in makeup."

"If you are referring to the incidents with Count Olaf," said Mr. Poe, but he got no further as Jill interrupted, "The so called 'Count' Olaf is only part of the problem. You have placed the children in situations where they are vulnerable to repeated harassment by Olaf, not to mention allowing Violet to be nearly raped. You should get down on your knees and thank god for not being indicted for criminal negligence by now! See you in a week! That is, if you haven't been arrested by then!"

Jill left a stunned looking Mr. Poe to rejoin Violet, Klaus and Sunny. "Is everything alright?" asked Violet. "Nothing to worry about," said Jill who was grinning widely, "Just getting a few points across, that's all. Now where shall we eat tonight? Your choice, money is of no concern." Still relishing in their sudden good fortune, Violet, Klaus and Sunny left the courthouse with Jill.

The end of chapter 3. Next chapter, we look in on Max as he puts the new Rambler recruits through the paces. See you next time!


	4. Chapter 4: The New Blood

Last time, while enjoying the waters of Miami Beach, Jill Sparrow of the Ramblers was informed that she was the new guardian of the Baudelaire Orphans. Apparently Jill has connections to their family. After clearing through all the legal red tape, Jill told Mr. Poe that he was incompetent and lucky not to be arrested for negligence. And now, on with the show!

Chapter 4: The New Blood

Back at Bureau headquarters, Max, Virgil and Laura were going over the profiles of the newest additions to the Ramblers:

Name: Julie 'Hawkeye' Eckheart

Age: 19

Height: 5'6"

Birthday: January 29

Zodiac sign: Aquarius

Blood type: B-

Hair: Blood, shoulder length

Eyes: Yellow, hawk shaped

Notable feature: Hook-shaped scar below her right eye

Hometown: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Weapon(s) of choice: Lever action Winchester rifle; twin spring-loaded pistols attached to arms.

Name: Shawn Ohmsford

Age: 17.5

Height: 5'10"

Birthday: October 6

Zodiac sign: Libra

Blood type: A+

Hair: Brown

Eyes: Dark blue

Hometown: Billings, Montana

Powers: Telekinesis; precognition and other mental abilities

Name: Lance Henderson

Age: 19

Height: 6' even

Birthday: March 12

Zodiac sign: Pisces

Blood type: O+

Hair: Brownish black

Eyes: Hazel

Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio

Weapon of choice: Twin-bladed energy sword

Name: Tyler 'Ty' Spartan aka 'Alloy'

Age: 19.5

Height: 5'10"

Birthday: April 29

Zodiac sign: Taurus

Blood Type: A-

Hair: Black

Eyes: Light green

Hometown: Ontario, Canada

Weapon(s) of choice: Customized armored battle suit

"This Shawn Ohmsford," said Virgil, "He's got the same powers as you do, Laura." "We may share the same abilities," said Laura, "But I'm stronger." "Yes," said Virgil, "But what he lacks in raw power, Shawn makes up for in control." "Are you suggesting that I have no control over my powers?" asked Laura in a menacing tone. "He's not suggesting anything of the sort," said Max, "Just that, from what I've read about Shawn Ohmsford, he doesn't get upset as easily as you do."

"We'll just see about that," said Laura as she moved on to the next file. "Since we're on the subject of the new 'fish' being better than us, this 'Hawkeye' Eckheart sounds like a better marksperson than you Max." "Like you said," said Max, "We'll just see about that." "Not much is known about Lance Henderson," said Virgil, "He's been operating off the 'grid' up until about a year ago. Wish we'd 'drafted' him sooner."

"And Tyler Spartan;" said Max, "If I'm not mistaken, he's Doc. Aaron's brother." "Aaron did say he hah a brother who was obsessed with 'Iron Man'," said Virgil, "Looks like he finished his battle suit. Can't wait to see it in action." "You'll get your chance today," said Laura, "We all will."

Deep within the bowels of the Bureau was a room resembling the holideck from StarTrek: TNG. Others would say it more resembled the 'Danger room' from 'X-Men.' Virgil, who designed and built the room, preferred to call it 'Combat Simulation Chamber 1, or CSC-1 for short. It can simulate any environment on the planet; from the highest mountains to the bottom of the ocean floor; from blistering desert to the freezing poles; from tropical rainforest to even the vacuum of space.

The chamber could simulate any combat situation; from urban warfare to reenactments of historical battlefields; from attacking hordes of the walking dead to demonic invasions. Right now Lance Henderson was showing Max, Laura and Virgil what he could do; they in the observation room above the chamber, he on the chamber floor. The chamber was filled with combat robots, which can simulate any kind of attacking foe, whether human, demonic or other.

With his twin-bladed energy sword, Lance was slicing his way through the ranks of his attackers. "Amazing!" exclaimed Virgil, "He's on a level 5 scenario against axe wielding maniacs, and he's not even breaking a sweat. He may break Steve's record for number of opponents slain in five minutes."

"What's that about someone breaking my record?" asked Steve as he entered the observation room. "Where've you been?" asked Virgil. "I was on the phone with Jill," said Steve, "She's on her way back from Miami, and she's got company traveling with her." "Hold that thought," said Max as the timer on the scenario expired. "Lance," said Max over the intercom, "You've defeated 97 combat robots in five minutes. You're three shy of breaking the record." "Then I shall improve my skills until I attain that new record," said Lance without showing any emotion, "You can count on it." With that, he left the chamber.

"I don't like him," said Steve, "Not one bit." "What's the matter," said Virgil as the chamber reset it's self for the next combatant, "Afraid you'll lose the record?" "That," said Steve, "And the fact that Lance doesn't seem to smile at all. He never smiles or frowns or shows any sign of emotion. I just don't trust anyone who doesn't smile."

"Well that's your opinion," said Laura, "I think he's got a lot on his mind. Who wouldn't? This whole situation is a lot to take in." At that time, the chamber was ready for the next recruit. "Next up is Shawn Ohmsford," said Laura, "Let's see what he can do." Shawn entered the chamber, which had reconfigured its self as a weight lifting exorcise. "Shawn," said Max over the intercom, "This situation will test how much you can lift with your mind."

"Bring it on!" exclaimed Shawn, "I'm ready." "You may think you're ready," said Laura, "But I doubt it. You see that large metal block to your left?" Shawn saw the metal block. "Lift it with your mind," said Laura, "And hold it twenty feet of the ground. Try to hold it up as long as you can. The program ends when you can't hold it up any longer and it touches the ground." "Easily done!" exclaimed Shawn as he focused his gaze on the block. It immediately hovered off the floor and levitated to a height of twenty feet.

"So far," said Virgil, "So good." "He won't be so cocky much longer," said Laura with a sly smile, "That block gets heavier the longer it is held up. I can keep it up for 38 minutes, by which time the block weighed well over 200 tones, and that's in metric tones. He won't last twenty minutes." "Care to back that up with cold hard cash?" asked Steve, "Fifty bucks says he lasts longer than twenty minutes." "I'll take that bet," said Laura, "It's one I'm sure I'll win."

As the clock continued to run up on Shawn, the strain of the exorcise was beginning to tell. Sweat was pouring down his face, and his eyes were dry, he dared not to blink for fear of breaking contact with the block. Finally the irresistible force of gravity pushed back the immovable object that was Shawn's mind, he collapsed to his knees and the block fell to the ground with a loud crash.

"Shawn!" exclaimed Max, "You alright?" Medics rushed into the chamber to check on him. Aside form a slightly bloody nose form the strain and near exhaustion, Shawn was all right. He gave the thumbs up as she left the room. "What was his time?" asked Steve. "21 minutes," said Virgil reading the chronometer, "And 19.66 seconds." Yes!" exclaimed Steve, "You owe me fifty bucks Laura!" Max then heard Laura mutter a string of obscenities, which ended with what sounded like "Greasy grimy gopher guts!"

Up next was Tyler Spartan or just Ty to his friends. The scenario Max chose for him consisted of an obstacle course containing the usual: swinging axes; spinning blades; falling boulders of various sizes; laser traps; spikes; trap holes; just to name a few.

Upon entering the chamber, Tyler removed his blue jacket ("You don't get the tan jacket until your first field mission," Max would later say, "Not one second sooner"). Underneath the jacket were what at first appeared to be a white vest covering his chest, back and his sides, yet it was made of metal. Tyler then pressed a red button on his watch. Suddenly, white metal plates began to unfold down his arms and legs, covering them in gleaming white armor, his hands also covered. Finally, a white helmet encased his head, showing metallic facial features with black oval shapes where the eyes should be.

The timer on the scenario started. Tyler then blasted his way through the course with a wide variety of weapons which were stored in compartments in his metal encased arms; Machine guns; rocket launchers; flame throwers; dart and net launchers; And from his black viewing ports, blue laser beams shot at the remaining traps.

"Well I guess that proves that it is sometimes healthy to be obsessed with comic books," said Virgil, "At least in this case."

The white armor folded back into Tyler's vest. Retrieving his jacket, he exited the chamber. "I'm getting the feeling," said Laura, "that he's not happy with the situation." "What do you mean?" asked Max. "Call it a hunch," said Laura, "But I don't think the Bureau is what Tyler thought it would be. He seems to be unsatisfied."

The chamber had reset itself again for the fourth and final player, Julie 'Hawk-eye' Eckheart. She entered the chamber, a loaded Winchester rifle in her hands. "Julie," said Max over the intercom, "This shall be an exorcise in 'Walking Dead' control. While you'll be facing holographic zombies, remember that if one of the images 'bites' you, the simulation is over and you are 'dead'."

"No problem," said Julie, "I fear no walking dead, real or image." Cocking her rifle, she readied herself as the simulation began. The images of several zombies appeared in the chamber, a fifty-foot gap separating the ghouls from her. They saw Julie, and each emitted a howl that chills the bones. Julie stood her ground as the ghouls advanced on her. She took aim and blasted the head off the one nearest to her. Cocking the rifle, Julie aimed and fired again; another zombie fell to the ground with its brains blown out.

A lever action Winchester can hold up to twelve shots in the tube under its barrel. Julie had hers modified to hold 15. She cocked her rifle again and fired, cocked and fired, cocked and fired; fifteen shots, fifteen slain zombies. With her rifle empty, Julie slung her rifle over her back, extended her arms out, and two 22 caliber pistols sprang our from under her shirt. She took aim and pulled both triggers, two more slain zombies.

The magazines in her pistols held ten shots each, so when they ran empty, another twenty ghouls were dead, as dead as they can be. However, there were still seven more zombies in the chamber. Fortunately for Julie, she had customized her pistols for automatic reloading. Her guns were reloaded within seconds, and the remaining zombies were soon defeated.

"How did I do?" asked Julie. "Well," said Max over the intercom, "You survived for one thing. However, your tactics need some work." "What was wrong with her tactics?" asked Laura, "She took those ghouls down in no time flat." "The problem," said Steve, "Was that she stood in the same spot the whole time. In a real zombie fight, you need to keep moving at all times. If you stand still for too long, you could have a zombie sneak up on you from behind."

"I'll remember that," said Julie as she glared at Steve, her hook shaped scar prominent in the chamber lights. She turned around and exited the chamber. "I think she heard you," said Virgil, "And I don't think she likes you very much." "Well," said Steve, "That's her problem, not mine."

"I think," said Laura, "That we found four very promising recruits, and that's saying something." "We won't know how promising they really are," said Max, "Until their first field mission. Oh Steve, what was it that you wanted to say?" "As I was about to tell you," said Steve, "I just talked to Jill, she and Aaron are coming back from Miami, and Jill's not alone. Our Jill is the proud foster-mother of Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire."

"Jill?" said Virgil, "A foster parent?" "Good for her!" exclaimed Laura. "And good for us," said Max, "Those kids are the one's Olaf is always trying to kill. Say what you will about me, but if we may have an opportunity to catch and kill the bastard." "Besides," said Callahan as he entered the room, "I think Violet Baudelaire might just be what this organization is looking for, in terms of new blood."

"What do you mean?" asked Virgil, "Are you suggesting that Violet Baudelaire is one of us? That she is a Meta-Human?" "Exactly," said Callahan, "And I'll explain more in my office, right after you fill me in on how the new recruits did in the chamber."

As they left the observation room, Laura paused, a distant look on her face. "You okay Laura?" asked Virgil. "There it is again," said Laura, "That presence, I still feel like I've felt it before." The continued to stare into space for a few more moments, then snapped out of it. "I've lost it again." "If you feel it again," said Callahan, "Let me know, we'll try to get it recorded."

The end of chapter 4. Can it be? Is Violet really a Meta-Human? Find out in the next chapter. Until then, please read and review. See you next time!


	5. Chapter 5: A Most Modest Proposal

Last time, we were introduced to the newest additions to the Ramblers. After observing what they could do in combat simulations, Steve told Max, Virgil and Laura that Jill was now a foster-mother, and that she had adopted Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire. Bureau Head Callahan informed Max and the others that Violet was a Meta-Human and that she could be a great help to the Bureau. Is this true? Can Violet really be a Meat-Human? And what about Klaus and Sunny? On with the show!

Chapter 5: A Most Modest Proposal

"This is where you live?" asked Violet as she gazed in awe at Jill's apartment. They were on the top floor of a brownstone apartment building (17 stories tall) on the Virginia side of the Potomac River; across which was a fantastic view of downtown Washington D.C. Violet wasn't admiring the view. Jill's apartment had a huge living room; an enormous, well-lit dinning room adjacent to a dazzling kitchen; three bathrooms, each with their own bathtub/shower; and four bedrooms, each with their own walk-in closet.

"I know," said Jill, "It's not much, but it's home." "How can you possibly afford such a place?" asked Klaus as he admired the many book-filled bookcases along the walls of the living room. "I made a few careful investments in my time," said Jill, "And they turned out rather well; such as those new hybrid cars, they're are selling like there's no tomorrow."

"Anyway," said Jill, "Let's get you three situated." Violet and Klaus each took rooms with plenty of empty space; Violet so she could have her own worktable, and Klaus so he can have plenty of book space. Sunny's room was smaller but that suited her fine. 'Where do I sign the lease?' she said, or what Violet and Klaus understood her to say.

The rest of the day was spent shopping for furniture, clothing and a few creature comforts; CD's; CD players; DVD's; DVD players… you get the picture. Shopping was followed by a large, grand dinner of Klaus's choosing, Italian.

Later as the children got ready for bead, Violet took stock of the situation. While their troubles with Olaf might not be over, at least they could rest easily knowing that someone who truly cares about them was watching over her, Klaus and Sunny. Perhaps she and her siblings had finally found a safe, peaceful and quiet home.

Safe? Yes. Peaceful? Maybe. Quiet? Not really. After all, you can't always get what you want.

The next morning Violet was woken up by a loud commotion from the living room, as if two people were having a heated argument. She quickly got dressed and met Klaus and Sunny in the hallway. "What's going on?' asked Klaus, "It's 7:04 in the morning for crying out loud." "I don't know," said Violet, "But I'm gonna know."

They entered the living room to find Jill arguing with a man in his mid-twenties with brown hair. Sitting in a chair beside a heavy looking oak table watching the two arguing adults was a girl in her late teens with blond hair and blue streaks. She had a small briefcase by her side.

"Out of the question Max!" exclaimed Jill, "I won't have you drag Violet into the business! I won't let you get her killed!" "I'm not saying that Violet should be a field agent!" exclaimed the man named Max, "What I am saying is that she can be a great asset to the organization!" "For the love of God, Max!" yelled Jill, "She's fifteen!" "I was fifteen when I joined the team," said the blond calmly, "And I'm still alive.

"You're different Laura," said Jill, "You have your special qualities. Besides, we don't know for sure if Violet is one of us." "One of what?" asked Violet. Realizing that she was there, Jill, Max and Laura looked to see Violet standing there. "Oh Violet," said Jill, "I'm so sorry, I should have kept my voice down, but some people," she glared at Max, "Don't know how to have a quiet conversation."

"It's okay Jill," said Violet, "I'm a light sleeper anyway." "I think introductions are in order," said Jill, "For manners sake. This is Max Kildare and Laura Hurst, my co-workers." Violet shook Laura's hand, then Max's hand. "I've heard a lot about you," said Max, "And that incredible brain of yours. "Well putting discussions about my brain aside," said Violet as she looked at Max, "If I'm one of you, then what are we?" "Before we go any further," said Laura, she pulled out two different official looking forms from her briefcase, "Jill, you need to sign this." "What is it?" asked Violet. "It doesn't matter what it is," said Jill, "Because I'm not signing it."

"Well what is it?" asked Violet. "This," said Laura, "makes it legal for Jill to give you permission to sign this." She showed Violet the second form. "And what is this?" asked Violet. "A standard Non-Disclosure form," said Laura, "meaning that once you put your name on it, you must keep your mouth shut about what we want to talk to you about. If you do blab about what you're about to learn, you'll be charged with violating national security; you'll be arrested for treason and punished accordingly."

"And what if I don't sign the form?' asked Violet. "Then Laura and myself," said Max, "Have wasted your time here." "You certainly have wasted our time," said Jill, "She's not signing any forms and I'm not giving her permission to do so." "Why are you being so negative?" asked Laura, "I thought you'd want Violet to be in on it." "My reasons are simple," said Jill, "Violet and her siblings have been through too much at the hands of that lunatic, Olaf. I'm not putting her through any situation where she'll be in any more danger."

Unknown to Jill, Violet has fallen to the state of mind that is both a blessing and a curse: curiosity.

"I'll do it," said Violet, "If Jill says I can, I'll sign the form, but only if my brother and sister are in on it, whatever it is." "That's reasonable," said Laura as she pulled out another form, this one with more than one line for signatures on it, "It can be done." "Out of the question!" exclaimed Jill, "It's bad enough you want to get Violet involved, I refuse to put Klaus and Sunny in the same situation!"

"What situation?" asked Klaus, while Sunny said what Violet and Klaus understood to be 'And what is it?' "Great," sighed Jill, "now that all three of them want to know, there's no going back." She held Violet's hand, "Violet, I'll sign the permission form, but only if it's what you want. But think about it first, once you're in on it, your life will never be the same."

"It's what I want," said Violet, "My life hasn't been the same since our parents were murdered." "I want it to," said Klaus, 'count me in!' said Sunny. "Majority rules," said Laura, "Last time I checked, it's still a free country." "It is," said Jill as she signed the permission form, "But remember Laura, freedom isn't free."

With the permission form signed, Violet and Klaus signed the non-disclosure form, and Violet being the oldest, signed for Sunny. "Now," said Violet, "What is it you think I am, and what is it?" "First thing;" said Max, "It's a distinct possibility you Violet are part of a slowly growing part of the human race, people who's DNA has advanced traits which permit enhanced physical and mental abilities. For example, I can lift this oak table with one finger without breaking a sweat."

Violet couldn't help but laugh, but was silenced as Max lifted the table above his head, with just one finger. 'Holy cow!' exclaimed Sunny. "You think that's impressive," said Laura, "Watch this; Max, you can put your arm down." Max lowered his arm, but the table was hovering in mid air. Violet, Klaus and Sunny were in stunned silence. Finally Violet managed to say, "Are you doing this?" "I can do more that this," said Laura as she rotated the table with her mind, "This and so much more." "I think you've made your point," said Jill, "So would you please put my 100 year old oak table down?"

"Oh, sorry," said Laura as she returned the table to it's former position, "No harm done." "So," said Violet, still somewhat stunned, "What do you think I can do?" "Isn't it obvious?" asked Laura, "Your power is one of the mind." "Oh, well," said Violet, "I wouldn't call it a power, it's more of a knack." "A knack for inventing," said Max, "One that if given the right resources, and a lot of encouragement, can be a great benefit for the world."

"What about me?" asked Klaus, "Am I part of this growing part of humanity?" "It's a distinct possibility," said Laura, "We won't be sure until after an intense DNA scan. But even if you younglings are not like us, us being Meta-Humans, I'm sure the world can benefit from a young woman who can invent at the drop of a hat, a young man who remembers every word he's ever read, and I'm sure we'll find something for a biter to do." 'Anything to help the world!' said Sunny.

"There's a catch," said Violet, "Am I right? Because there is always a catch." "There is," said Jill, "A catch I hoped to spare from you. In exchange for nurturing your abilities, to bring out the best of them, you must use your abilities to help keep the world safe." "Safe from what?" asked Violet. "There are things that go 'bump' in the night," said Max, "Our job, is to 'bump' back, and then some."

Violet and her siblings thought for a moment before nodding to each other in silent agreement before she said, "After all we've been through," said Violet, "I'm sure a few 'bumps' in the night won't be so hard to deal with." "Are you sure?" asked Jill, "It's not to late to change your mind." "I'm sure," said Violet, "I'm not afraid." "That's what I'm afraid of," said Jill, "and that's the truth."

The end of chapter 5. Next time, Violet, Klaus and Sunny journey to the headquarters of The Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense, and meet the rest of the Ramblers. See you next time!


	6. Chapter 6: An Upside Down World

Before we get started there's something I need to say; for some reason I haven't been getting any messages from fanfiction . net, not one, not even the ones that tell you that a new chapter is up. So to all my fellow readers and writers out there, I'm sorry if I haven't been able to talk to you. I can be reached at my normal e-mail Andrewk9000 (at sign) hotmail . com

thank you.

Last time, Max and Jill had a heated argument over whether or not to inform Violet and her siblings about The Bureau, the Ramblers, Meta-Humans and so on. Just hearing Jill and Max arguing peaked Violet's curiosity. She signed a non-disclosure form, which allowed Max to tell her that she, Klaus and Sunny might just be fellow Meta-Humans. On with the show!

Chapter 6: An Upside Down World

Down in the Bureau recreation room, Virgil, Steve and the recently recovered Simon 'D.P.' Brotonoononowluski, were lounging with the new crowd, Julie, Tyler, Lance and Shawn. D.P., a brown haired native of New Jersey, with one green eye and one blue, was having his new metal right arm inspected by Virgil. "I don't like it," said D.P. as Virgil made an adjustment to D.P.'s new arm, "I don't feel comfortable with kids in the Bureau."

"If you are referring to Jill and Max bringing Violet Baudelaire and her siblings here," said Virgil, "Take it up with 'Diamond Dave,' it was his idea to bring Violet in. There, your arm's done." D.P. moved his metal arm about, rotating the metal hand a full 360 degrees. "That's just plain disturbing," said Shawn, "Yet I can't look away." "Believe me," said Julie, "We've only seen the tip of the iceberg of this place. Things are going to get even more disturbing."

"I'll believe it when I se it," said Tyler, "not one second before." "What's your problem?" asked Steve, "You've been acting like the Bureau isn't your cup of tea." "I don't know," said Tyler, "My family has been involved with the Bureau since the 1950's, yet it's not what I was expecting." "What were you expecting?" asked Virgil, "Something out of that movie 'Hellboy?'" "I don't know," said Tyler, "But I'll know what I'm looking for in life when I see it."

"If I may change the subject," said D.P., "What's this I heard about the team being assigned to kill 'Count' Olaf?" "It's true," said Virgil, "By order of the President, we are to find and terminate Olaf with extreme prejudice. You seem more mellow since we came back from Death Eater Island." "Getting your arm ripped out can do that to you," said D.P., "That and seeing your best friend's head get cut off."

"If I can get my two cents in," said Lance, "Why is Olaf constantly trying to kill Violet Baudelaire and her siblings?" "Here's the short version," said Steve, "Violet is the heir to a vast fortune, and Olaf has time and again tried to worm his way to the money, through impersonation, kidnapping and murder."

"Just how much money are we talking about here?" asked Julie, "Because it must be an obscenely large amount for Olaf to be as persistent as he has been." "It's more than money," said Virgil, "Despite a huge amount of cash in various banks around the world; there's also land and property holdings, bonds, business and commercial investments, and stock holdings. If Violet were to turn 18 today, she'd be worth approximately $2,460,518,303 give or take a few pennies."

"Jesus Christ!" exclaimed Lance, Steve, Julie, Tyler and D.P. "How did you figure that out?" asked Julie. "It's amazing what you can do with a high speed internet connection," said Virgil, "along with a few well designed code breaking programs." "Since you're so into hacking, "Said Steve, "How about getting me The Matrix Trilogy?" "I told you over the summer," said Virgil, "I already have that on my hard drive." "Can't you just buy the movies on DVD?" asked Tyler. "Why buy when you can get the same products for free?" said Steve, "So how about watching it?"

"Later," said Virgil as he checked his watch, "Look, Max, Jill and Laura are gonna be here in twenty minutes with Violet and her siblings, and I would like to make a good impression." "I'm not worried about good impressions," whined Steve, "I'm worried about Neo, and I want to know what he's up to."

Twenty minutes later…

"It looks like an ordinary office building to me." Violet said as she, Klaus and Sunny followed Max, Laura and Jill into said office building. "Glad it fooled you so well," said Max, "It's a real office building on top. Underground, that's another story all together."

Violet followed Jill, Max and Laura through the lobby down a corridor to a lone elevator. Next to the elevator was a large crest showing a bronze hand grasping a silver hammer inscribed in a gold circle. Outside the circle were several Latin words. Jill swiped her security card in the card reader, entered a 12-digit code into the keypad, had her palm scanned and spoke the phrase; "9-3-4 Texas." A female electronic voice spoke "_Access Denied!_"

"What?" exclaimed Jill. "My bad," said Laura as she swiped her card, entered the number code and had her palm scanned, "They changed the voice code yesterday. 9-3-4 Nevada." "_Access granted!_" said the voice, "_Welcome Laura Hurst._" Violet followed Max, Laura and Jill into the elevator, with Klaus and Sunny behind her. Jill pressed the lone button and the elevator began it's downward decent.

"I was wondering Violet," said Max, "Did you see the crest outside the elevator?" "I did," said Violet, "But I didn't understand what the words meant." Klaus, who had read several books on Latin, did understand and said, "_'in the absence of light, darkness prevails.'_" "Exactly," said Max, "Besides bumping back in the night, our job is to keep the light going."

The elevator stopped and they exited into a set of official offices. "Welcome, to The Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense," said Max, "Here we have administration and communications and all that jazz. What you really want to see is down this way."

Max led Violet and co. to another elevator, this one with a retinal scan, a 18-digit code, and a voice code; "THX 1138." "_Access to restricted levels granted, welcome Max Kildare._"

Upon exiting the elevator Violet found herself in a large atrium with several corridors leading off in different directions, each had a sigh telling what they led to: "Computer core room:" read Klaus, "Armory; Target practice hall; Recreation hall; Research laboratory's 1-4; Research laboratory's 5-8; Training rooms 1-3; Training rooms 4-6; Combat Simulation Chamber 1; Archives; Weapons development; Medical lab; Sickbay; Lunchroom; Vehicle storage; Motor pool; Storage bays 1-5; and Storage bays 6-10. Should be easy enough to remember."

"I've been working here for almost three years," said Laura, "And I still get lost down here sometimes. "How far underground are we?" asked Violet, who was understandingly feeling somewhat claustrophobic. "The first elevator took us about 20 stories," said Jill, "That last one, about 30, so we're about 600 feet below the streets of Washington D.C." "And nobody knows about it?" asked Klaus. "Only those who need to know, know about it," said Max, "And now you three need to know." 'Glad we need to know,' said Sunny.

"So," said Max, "Where to first?" "Laboratories!" exclaimed Violet, and at the same time Klaus exclaimed "Archives!" "Tell you what," said Jill, "I'll take Violet to the labs, while Max shows Klaus to the Archives." "What about Sunny?" asked Klaus. "I'm sure Laura can find something for her to bite," said Jill, "Won't you Laura?" "Lucky me!" said Laura sarcastically.

Six hours later…

Steve walked into the lunchroom to find Max and Klaus talking at one table, Violet and Virgil at another table, while Laura was sitting with Sunny. Jill had just entered after Steve. "Are those the kids you took in?" asked Steve. "Yes," said Jill, "And if you lay one of your randy paws on Violet, I'll turn you inside out!" "I would never do such a thing!" exclaimed Steve, "What do you think I am?" "Someone who needs to keep his equipment in his pants where it belongs!" said Jill.

"Jill!" exclaimed Violet as she beckoned Jill over to where she was sitting, "It's incredible down here!" "I know," said Jill who despite her earlier resentment, was feeling glad that Violet was here, "I've been working here since 1999. So what did you do today that helped make the world better?" "Not much," said Violet, "I'm still getting the hang of the place, but I feel that I've found my calling."

"I'd say that's an understatement," said Virgil, "She's in love with my current project." "Fusion power," said Violet with a huge grin, "Virgil has a real-time simulation of a fusion reactor in his workshop in Lab 2." "So that's what you've been doing down there," said Steve, "And here I was thinking that you were building a better mousetrap." "I already have," said Virgil, "It's on the market."

"Don't we already have fusion power?" asked Laura. "No," said Klaus who had read several books on alternate energy sources, "What we have is a fusion reactor that generates the same amount of power required to run it. What is needed is a reactor that produces more energy than what goes into it." "How did you know that?" asked Violet. "I read science journals," said Klaus, who was interrupted by Sunny, 'And everything else.'

"And what did you do today?" asked Jill. "I've been in the Bureau Archives," said Klaus, "Everything that the Bureau has done since its creation in 1943 is recorded and stored there. I'm about three quarters through 'The Great Occult War,' and there's still so much to learn."

"A wise man once said," said Max, "And I forget who, 'Knowledge is strength.'" "That reminds me," said Klaus, "Why doesn't the rest of the world know about all of this? Wouldn't it be better if the whole human race was united in the struggle against evil?" "It would," said Max, "But people tend to be afraid of what they don't understand, case in point: us, Meta-Humans."

"But wouldn't it be a good thing if the human race knew it was evolving?" asked Violet. "Mankind is constantly evolving," said Virgil, "But evolution is normally a slow process, changes to a species usually takes thousands, sometimes millions of years to occur. "

"He's right," said Shawn as he entered the room, "If the world knew that supper powered people were just popping up everywhere, there'd be mass panic." "And it's easy for fear to turn into hate," said Tyler who had followed Shawn, "just read X-Men, you'll know what I'm talking about."

"X-Men is a comic book Tyler," said Virgil, "You can't judge the reaction of the entire planet on what you read in comic books, right Violet? Violet? Are you listening to me?" For Violet wasn't listening to Virgil, she had a glazed look on her face as she stared at Shawn, who stared back at her with an equal look.

"I think what we have here," said Laura to Jill, "Is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." "I'm gonna have to keep an eye on Shawn," said Jill in a serious tone, "He'd better behave, for his sake." Just then something large zoomed past Max so fast that nobody in the room managed to get a good look at it.

"What was that?" asked Violet as she finally broke eye contact with Shawn. Max was standing up and rubbing the back of his head. "You alright?" asked Klaus. "Whatever that was," said Max, "It felt like something was pulling on my hair." A look of clarity dawned on his face, followed by anger. "Leon!" exclaimed Max, "I know it was you! So don't do it!"

"Who's Leon?" asked Violet, "And what is 'it?'" "You're about to find out," said Jill, "Watch and see." Suddenly, Max stiffened with his arms held straight up in the air. His right arm then bent forward and started to slap him in the face. "This isn't funny Cajun Man!" exclaimed Max, "So stop it for f#ck's sake!" "No," said a male voice with a New Orleans accent, which Violet couldn't see where it was coming from, "I'm not done with you yet!" By now both of Max's arms were punching himself in the face.

"Quit hitting yourself!" exclaimed the voice, "Quit Hitting yourself!" "You know damn well that you're the one doing this Leon!" yelled Max, "So stop with the body control and turn off your cloaking device!" Just then a man emerged from the doorway as if he wasn't there before.

Name: Leon Smyth-Falcon aka 'Cajun Man'

Age: 23

Height: 5'11"

Birthday: October27

Zodiac sign: Scorpio

Blood type: AB-

Hair: Brown

Eyes: Hazel

Hometown: New Orleans, Louisiana

Powers/Weapon(s) of choice: Voodoo; short bursts of super-speed; 45 caliber 'Desert Eagle'

Founding member of The Ramblers

Violet could see that Leon held in his hands a cloth doll that looked remarkably like Max, with a few strands of brown hair in it's head. He tweaked the voodoo doll's arms so that Max was now alternating between hitting is face and bashing himself in the gut. "You think this is funny!" exclaimed Max, "You think this f#ck$ng funny!" "This ain't about laughs!" exclaimed Leon, "It's about getting back at you for what you did to me!"

"What was I supposed to do!" yelled Max, "everyone thought you were bitten by a f#ck$ng zombie." "You are so full of sh$t!" exclaimed Leon. "Ahem!" coughed Jill, "Gentlemen, we have guests, try to act like civilized persons." Leon then noticed Violet, Klaus and Sunny, "Hi there!" said Leon with a hasty smile, "We're talking big people talk."

"Look Leon," said Laura, "Max put you in frozen sleep because he thought he was doing the right thing. It was either freeze you or shoot you in the head." "I never thought about it that way," said Leon as he removed the hairs form the doll, which stopped Max from doing what Leon wanted him to do, "I'm sorry Max." "I'm sorry too," said Max, "But if you ever put the whammy on me again, it'll be the last thing you ever do, I swear it."

Later on, Jill asked Violet what she thought of the Bureau. "Well," said Violet, "My whole concept of the would has been turned upside down, I'm still getting used to the fact that I'm a Meta-Human, and I just witnessed voodoo for the first time in my life. Other than that, I think I'm gonna enjoy working at the Bureau."

"You sure?" asked Jill, "Because I can still arrange it for you, Klaus and Sunny so that you don't get involved." "It's not about being involved with me," said Violet, "For the first time in a long time, I feel that I can make a difference in the world, and that's all I ask from life."

The end of chapter 6. Next chapter, we shift views back to the three bounty hunters introduced in chapter 2, as well as the mysterious and deadly Man-Thing. See you next time!


	7. Chapter 7: Searching

Last time Violet, Klaus and Sunny were introduced to the headquarters of the Bureau, as well as several members of the Ramblers. Violet and Klaus were especially impressed by what they saw, and after a demonstration of Voodoo from the newly recovered Leon Smyth-Falcon aka Cajun Man, Violet was even more determined to use her talents to help mankind. On with the show!

Chapter 7: Searching

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 8:37 p.m.

Sally-Ann Carpenter had made good time from her drive from Texas. But what was making her angry was that she had spent her time in the city looking for any leads to Olaf, and not one scent of a clue had turned up for her. That is, up until now. One person on the street had pointed out to another, and that person had mentioned another, and so on. Hoping that this wasn't a wild goose chase, Sally-Ann walked into a downtown back alley.

At the other end of the alley under a streetlight, was an anomous looking man in a trench coat, providing a rather noir atmosphere. "Word on the street is that you know where 'Count' Olaf is these days," said Sally-Ann, "I was hoping you might let me in on his location." "I might just know," said the man, "But my memory just isn't what it used to be."

Sally-Ann slid a $20 bill into the man's outstretched hand, "Does this jog your memory?" she asked. "Yeah," said the man, "It's starting to come back to me. Last I heard, Olaf was heading south after those kids he's always trying to off. Word is that they's got a new step-mom. Now what was her name? I had it on the tip of my tongue, but it eludes me."

Sally-Ann gave him another $20. "Now I remember," said the man, "Her name's Jill Sparrow. She does some sort of top secret work for the government, nobody knows what." "What city?" asked Sally-Ann, another $20 in her hand ready to pass it on. "Somewhere south of here," said the man, "Now what was it again?"

"What city?" asked Sally-Ann more sternly this time, her hand returning the bill to her pocket. "Washington D.C." said the man, "That's where Jill Sparrow lives, and that's where those kids are." Sally-Ann handed over the bill, "Don't spend it all in one place!" she said as she left the alleyway.

30 minutes later Sally-Ann was back in her car, re-fuelled and ready for the journey south.

Boston, Massachusetts, 10:22 p.m.

In a random cyber cafe Zack Sawyer was typing away at his laptop, occasionally sipping at his coffee. Most people wouldn't understand the load of data displayed on the laptop screen, but Zack knew. He was searching for any record of the Baudelaire Orphans location, for where Violet, Klaus and Sunny were, Olaf was sure to be there soon. Using an advanced untraceable hacking program, he finally located an adoption record in Miami, detailing that the Baudelaire's were in Washington D.C. "Then D.C. is where I must go," Zack said to himself. He paid for his coffee and left for his car in the parking lot.

New York City, New York, 12:43 a.m.

It was raining in New York City as Michael Long tossed his would be informant out onto roof of one of the many apartment buildings which dotted Manhattan island. "Where is he?" asked Michael as his stubborn informant tried to regain his footing, "I won't be so polite if I have to ask again."

"I told you," said the man, "I don't know where Olaf is! Nobody knows where he is!" "I think you're a f#ck$ng liar!" exclaimed Michael as he kicked the man in the gut, sending him skidding to the edge of the roof. Michael then held his 'informant' over the edge, ready to drop him 20 stories onto the streets of New York City.

"For the last time!" exclaimed Michael, "Where is Olaf? And be quick about it, my hands are getting slippery!" "Okay! I'll talk!" exclaimed the man, "Just don't kill me!" "Where is he!" exclaimed Michael, "What city?" "Washington D.C.!" exclaimed the man, "That's all I know!" "Are you sure?" asked Michael as he held the man out by his legs, "Because it wouldn't be fair if you were holding out on me."

"He's after those kids he's always trying to kill!" exclaimed the man, "Something about them being adopted by this English girl who works for the government!" "Who!" exclaimed Michael. "Jill Sparrow!" exclaimed the man, "That's all I know I swear! Please don't kill me!" Michael then threw his informant back onto the roof. "You're lucky I'm in a good mood," said Michael, "Otherwise you'd be taking a pavement nap right about now." He went back inside down to a nearby parking garage where his motorcycle was waiting for him.

St. Louis, Missouri, 2:14 a.m. Central Daylight Savings time…

The creature known as Man-Thing stood on the western bank of the Mississippi River, admiring the view of the longest river in America. It knew that it was pointless to waste time gazing at the scenery; it knew that there was a job to be done. Olaf was out there, somewhere to the east, somewhere laughing at justice. Man-Thing turned away from the river and headed for the nearest bridge across. "I'm coming for you Olaf," Man-Thing said to its self, "Your pathetic excuse of a life won't last much longer, soon, you shall be mine for the killing." Without a moments' pause, Man-Thing crossed the bridge over the Mississippi river into Illinois.

The end of chapter 7. Next time, well, those of you who have read the books can guess what's coming next, so I won't say it. See you next time!


	8. Chapter 8: The Terrible Tutor

Last time we focused on Sally-Ann, Michael and Zack as they gained information on where Olaf was. Meanwhile, the creature known as Man-Thing continued east as it crossed the Mississippi River. On with the show!

Chapter 8: The Terrible Tutor

Violet could hardly believe that it had been five days since she and Jill had adopted her and her siblings. Five days of being cared for by someone who not only knew what she was doing, but also by someone who loved her like a mother should. But the best times were when she was down in the Bureau labs, whether helping Virgil on his Fusion Power project or letting her imagination run wild with her own projects.

Klaus was having the time of his life reading about the history of the Bureau; as well as case files of Zombie outbreaks and the many different forms of demons. As for Sunny, Laura made sure that she kept out of too much trouble.

Back with Violet, her thoughts kept straying over to Shawn Ohmsford. _He has such gorgeous eyes,_ Violet would think, _and the way he looks at me, oh I could just melt into his arms. Oh My God! I think I've got a crush on Shawn!_

Yet as good as times were for her, Violet knew in he heart that it wouldn't last. She knew that it was only a matter of time before Olaf found her. Little did Violet know was just how short that time was.

On the morning of the sixth day Jill was watching Violet as she, Klaus and Sunny were admiring the Lincoln Memorial, when a tall man with thick black hair and coke bottle glasses approached Jill. He had extremely bushy eyebrows and a thick black moustache; an almost exact impression of Groucho Marx. With one look Violet knew that it was Olaf.

"Excuse me miss," said the man in a thick New England accent to Jill, "I couldn't help but notice that your children there are out of school on this fine autumn day." "What does that make you," said Jill, "A truant officer?" "Not at all," said the man, "I happen to be a private teacher myself; Professor Rufus K. Firefly at your service." He then handed Jill a business card.

"Well 'Professor' Firefly," said Jill as she pocketed the business card, "I'm not sure my charges have need of home schooling. They're already rather intelligent." "Ah," said Firefly/Olaf, "But a child's education is never complete if they're denied a proper teacher. And if you're wondering about tutoring fees, I'm sure we can negotiate it."

"Money is of no concern for me," said Jill, "What I am concerned about is your credentials. In this day and age, you can never be too careful about who you are dealing with. For all I know you might just be a terrorist in disguise, waiting for his chance to blow up a government building."

At this, Firefly/Olaf laughed heartily, "My good woman, I have no intention of destroying any part of this great nation. But if you're worried about my credentials, I can have them ready to be viewed this afternoon, say at 3:00 p.m. at your place of residence?" "That would be fine," said Jill as she gave Firefly/Olaf her address, "I'll be waiting." Pocketing the address, Firefly/Olaf vanished into the crowd.

"The bastard thinks he's so smart," said Jill, "Just because he thinks he can act doesn't mean that he's better than anyone." "You knew he was Olaf?" asked Violet in an amazed voice. "Violet," said Jill, "I can tell if someone's wearing a mask from thirty feet away. So relax, by the end this day, Olaf shall never trouble you or your siblings again. I'm gonna arrange a little surprise for him at my place this afternoon. I just need to make a phone call."

Down in the bureau, Max had just finished talking with Jill. He hurried down the corridors to where Laura was, who was having a staring contest with Shawn. "Sorry to break up the match," said Max, "But Jill just told me that she saw Olaf here in Washington." "He's here in town?!" exclaimed Laura, who just happened to blink. "Ha!" exclaimed Shawn "I win!"

"That doesn't count!" exclaimed Laura, "I want a rematch." "Moving right along," said Max, "Jill had Olaf thinking he's got her fooled, and he's coming by her place at 3:00 p.m. today."

"Let me guess," said Laura, "We're gonna be waiting for him there, and when he gets there, we bag and kill him." "On the nose," said Max, "Let's go!" "Can I come along?" asked Shawn, "I feel that I need to be there." "I see no reason why not," said Max, "so let's go!" "Why do you feel that you need to be there?" asked Laura. "I just do," said Shawn, who was thinking, _if anything were to happen to Violet, I don't know what I'd do. Hang on; can it be that I have a crush on Violet?_

"Mind if I tag along?" asked Steve, "Two gunmen and two psychics would make it harder for the bastard to get away then just one gunman." "Is that what you're calling yourself?" asked Shawn, "A gunman?" "Well there's not much room to swing my power-pole in her apartment," said Steve, "And Jill would be super pissed if I did anything to damage her stuff." "Good point," said Laura.

The end of chapter 8. Next chapter, Sally-Ann, Michael and Zack arrive in the city. See you next time!


	9. Chapter 9: Closing In

Last time, Olaf showed up to try again to worm his way close to Violet so he can kill her and claim the fortune. Only this time, Jill wasn't fooled. Jill then called Max to set a trap for Olaf, which will be sprung when Olaf comes by Jill's place that afternoon. On with the show!

Chapter 9: Closing In

Those who have read 'The Dark Tower' cycle by Stephen King would know that the term 'Ka-Tet' refers to those bound by fate. And as she stood outside the Capital building, Sally-Ann Carpenter began to realize that she, Zack Sawyer and Michael Long might just be bounded by fate.

The three bounty hunters had each arrived in Washington D.C. at roughly the same time, despite the distances of their starting points. As they stood facing each other near the steps of Congress, it was Michael who spoke first: "So here we are again, apparently our leads have leaded us back together."

"Let me guess," said Sally-Ann, "Your informants told you that the Baudelaire children were staying with someone named Jill Sparrow." "That's right," said Zack, "And that this Sparrow woman does some sort of top secret work for the government." "Correct," said Michael, "So now that we're together again, and all three of us are following the same leads, what's stopping us from working together? Half a million split three ways is still a lot of money."

"Why not?" asked Sally-Ann, "But then, what about our bet?" "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," said Michael, "Right now, I suggest we head over to Jill Sparrow's place of residence. If that's where the Baudelaire orphans are, then Olaf is sure to go there." "I just remembered something important," said Zack, "On my way here I saw several other bounty hunters, some of them I know, others I didn't but I could tell they were the real thing." "I saw a bunch as well," said Sally-Ann, "It's like a bounty hunter convention here."

"I sincerely doubt it's a coincidence," said Michael, "They are all here in Washington D.C., and they're all after Olaf." "It gets worse," said Sally-Ann, "Most of them make up rival groups, and some of them have hostile relationships. "My god!" exclaimed Zack, "They'll tear the city apart; if not by searching for Olaf, then by trying to stop each other from looking for him!"

"Then we'd better move fast," said Michael, "What time is it?" "Almost 3:00 p.m." said Sally-Ann. "Jill Sparrow lives across the river near the Jefferson Memorial," said Zack, "We can be there by 3:20 if the traffic isn't bad."

Meanwhile…

The creature known as Man-Thing had just finished crossing the border that separated Kentucky from West Virginia. _At this pace,_ it thought_, I can be in Washington D.C. the day after tomorrow, assuming my contact was right about Olaf being there._ "And if he is there," it said out loud, "Then he'll never step in any other city again."

The end of chapter 9. Short and to the point, that's how it is. Next chapter, the trap for Olaf is set, all is needed is the rat to spring it. See you next time!


	10. Chapter 10: The Sting pt1

Last time our three favorite bounty hunters; Sally-Ann, Michael and Zack, realized that it would be in their best interest if they were to team up to catch and/or kill Olaf. They each told the others that they had seen other bounty hunters in Washington, some of them from rival groups. Realizing that time was short before the city erupted in violence from hostile bounty hunters, they headed over to Jill's place to wait for Olaf. Meanwhile, Man-Thing moves closer to Washington D.C. On with the show!

Chapter 10: The Sting part 1

At exactly 3:00 p.m. the doorbell for Jill's apartment rang. Jill opened the door to reveal Firefly/Olaf. "Ah, Miss Sparrow," said Firefly/Olaf, "As promised, here I am with my credentials." "Do come in Professor Firefly," said Jill in a rather cheerful voice that hid her disgust, "I thought we'd have a cup of tea while discussing the terms of business."

Jill showed Firefly/Olaf to the dinning room (which was next to the sliding glass doors to the balcony) where Laura was sitting with Violet. "Ah there she is," said Firefly/Olaf, "The one whose education is in my capable hands." "Yes," said Violet who was also hiding her disgust, "I'm looking forward to learning from you."

"Oh," said Jill, "This is an associate of mine, Laura Hurst." "Pleased to meet you." Said Laura as she shook Firefly's/Olaf's hand. "Charmed," said Firefly/Olaf, "You have such a firm grip for such a lovely young woman." "Flattery will get you nowhere fast," said Laura grimly, "And I need to hold onto you tightly in order to read your mind. It's him alright!"

From behind Firefly/Olaf stood Steve. He swiftly reached in front of him, grabbed his face by the chin, and ripped off the latex mask Olaf wore, revealing him to be Olaf. "You my friend!" exclaimed Steve, "Are up sh$t creek without a paddle!"

As Steve handcuffed Olaf, Max and Shawn emerged from their hiding places. "It looks like we weren't needed after all," said Max, "Good work Steve, you did what the FBI, CIA, NSA and every civilian law enforcement agency in the country couldn't do, you caught 'Count' Olaf." "It was nothing," said Steve smugly, "All in a day's work. Another day, and other sack of pig vomit that thought he was above the law gets busted."

Meanwhile Shawn was talking with Violet, "Are you alright?" asked Shawn as he gazed into Violet's eyes, "Because I would have never let him hurt you." "I'm fine," said Violet as she gazed back, "Just knowing that you were here made all the difference."

"How touching," said Olaf sarcastically, "Young Violet has found herself a champion. It's pathetic" "Shut the f#ck up old man!" exclaimed Steve. Jill then glared daggers at Olaf, "You actually thought you had me fooled, didn't you? Well let me tell you something mister; you are a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad actor!"

"What gave me away?" asked Olaf, "I always benefit from constructive criticism." "You won't need it for very much longer," said Jill, "First of all, I can tell if someone's wearing a mask from thirty feet away. Second, you used an accent that totally clashed with the look. You sounded like a New England school teacher, yet you look like one of the Marx Brothers."

"I always said you were a rotten actor!" said Violet happily. "This is but a miniscule setback, Violet," said Olaf, "I will get your fortune! You and your siblings shall suffer for this humiliation. Where are Klaus and that monkey of a sister of yours anyway?"

"Where you'll never find them," said Max, "And before you are sent to your fate, I've got a question; just what the f#ck is wrong with you? I know that a large inheritance such as Violet's is an irresistible attraction for a murdering con artist like as you, but why such persistence? What possible purpose could you put to that large amount of money?"

"It's relatively simple," said Olaf, "I want peace of mind. With the Baudelaire fortune in my pockets, I can disappear from the world and live out my life in peace and quiet." "Believe me where you're going," said Max grimly, "You'll definitely have peace, the tranquil peace of the grave. Violet? How upset would you be if tomorrow's headlines said that this pathetic excuse for a human being was 'Shot by Federal Agents While Resisting Arrest'?"

It was at that moment that Violet realized that Max and the others were going to kill Olaf. Yet, as Violet looked Olaf square at his unibrowed eyes, she felt no pity, no remorse, only a feeling of satisfaction that the one who put her and her siblings through so much misery was about to die. "I wouldn't be upset at all," said Violet, "Just do it quietly."

"That's that then," said Steve as he removed the safety of his pistol, "Congratulations Olaf, you're gonna die!" "You can't kill me!" exclaimed Olaf, "I have rights! I have the right to a fair trial!" "Your constitutional rights were revoked when this was issued," said Max as he pulled out an official looking document, "This is a copy of your official Death Warrant, the original signed and notarized by the President of the United States."

"Bet you didn't know that the President can order people to be terminated," said Steve, "but only three per term. But guess what? You're number two for this term." "Now," said Max, "I had recently learned of a most gruesome method of death; I'd secure an open jar of rats to your face, then heat up the other end of the jar so that the rats would have to eat their way out through your face, but I'll do as Violet asked."

He pulled out a huge revolver and attached a silencer to the barrel, "Quick and quiet, not that you deserve it." "Let's do it outside," said Laura, "I'd rather not listen to Jill complaining about us getting blood and bone fragments on her carpet."

"Wait a second," said Jill, "Am I the only one who hears that?" "Hear what?" asked Steve. "That sound," said Jill, "it's like a low flying jet engine." "Oh god!" exclaimed Laura, "It's 9/11 all over again!" "I can assure you Laura," said Shawn, "It's not a jet airplane that was hijacked by terrorists."

"Well that's good news," said Laura, "So what is it?" "From what I see," said Steve as he looked out the sliding glass doors, "It looks like four men in black jumpsuits, black motorcycle helmets, wearing jetpacks, and they're hading this way!"

Just then four men in black jumpsuits, black motorcycle helmets and wearing jetpacks crashed through the sliding glass doors, each armed with a high-powered assault rifle.

To Be Continued…

Note: If I have offended anyone with my reference to 9/11, I sincerely apologize, it was all for the good of the story. Next chapter, it's an all out gunfight in Jill's apartment. See you next time!


	11. Chapter 11: The Sting pt2

Last time Olaf arrived at Jill's apartment with the intention of trying yet again to get close enough to Violet to kill her. Only this time Max, along with Steve, Laura and Shawn were waiting for him. After restraining Olaf, Max asked Violet about her feelings on killing Olaf. Violet had no objections. Just before carrying out the deadly deed, our heroes were interrupted by the arrival of 4 individuals wearing jetpacks. On with the show!

Chapter 11: The Sting part 2

"Wait a second," said Jill, "Am I the only one who hears that?" "Hear what?" asked Steve. "That sound," said Jill, "it's like a low flying jet engine." "Oh god!" exclaimed Laura, "It's 9/11 all over again!" "I can assure you Laura," said Shawn, "It's not a jet airplane that was hijacked by terrorists."

"Well that's good news," said Laura, "So what is it?" "From what I see," said Steve as he looked out the sliding glass doors, "It looks like four men in black jumpsuits, black motorcycle helmets, wearing jetpacks, and they're hading this way!"

Just then four men in black jumpsuits, black motorcycle helmets and wearing jetpacks crashed through the sliding glass doors, each armed with a high-powered assault rifle.

Before either Max or Jill could shout 'who the f#ck are you?' as they wanted to shout, the four intruders opened fire with their machine guns. Instinctively Max, Steve, Jill and Laura hit the floor to avoid the hail of bullets. Shawn had pushed Violet to the floor and was shielding her with both his powers and his body.

"Friends of yours!" Steve shouted above the racket as the gunmen continued their barrage. "No idea!" shouted Jill, "But whoever they are, they're ruining my apartment!" Crawling to a nearby cabinet, Jill pulled out one of several 9mm handguns she kept hidden in her apartment.

Max already had his revolvers out and cocked, while Steve had his pistol ready. With Laura providing a barrier to the enemy bullets, Jill, Steve and Max leapt up from cover and fired back. The four gunmen took cover themselves, but Steve managed to hit one of them in the shoulder, incapacitating him.

The remaining three gunmen continued to shoot from their positions, yet their bullets just bounced off Laura's shield. One of the gunmen tried to head for better cover. Max pulled the triggers on both revolvers, sending two 45-caliber shots into the chest of the gunmen, splattering blood all over the walls and carpet.

"Sorry Jill," said Max, "I'll clean that up." "It doesn't matter," said Jill as she reloaded her pistol, "They've made such a mess already, what's a little blood on the walls and carpet?" Steve then fired a shot that went through the head of the third gunman, splattering blood, brains and skull fragments onto the wall. "My bad!" exclaimed Steve, "I'll take care of that."

"You'll do no such thing!" shouted Jill as her shot entered the chest of the fourth gunman, killing him instantly, "That blood, brains and bone fragments is evidence. You'll clean it up after the crime lab people are done here."

With the last gunman silenced, there was no reason for any more shooting. "Everyone okay?" asked Max. "I'm fine," said Steve. "Me too," said Laura. "My god!" exclaimed Jill, "Violet!" "I'm fine," said Violet, "Shawn saved me." "I told you," said Shawn as he helped Violet up, "I would never allow anything to harm you." Once again they gazed into each other's eyes.

"Forgive me for stating the obvious," said Steve, "But I think they like each other." "Look out Jill," said Laura, "In a few years you'll be a foster mother-in-law." "Lucky me," said Jill, not sure if she should feel lucky or not.

"Where's Olaf?" asked Max, "Did anybody keep an eye on him?" "No we didn't," said Laura, "We were too busy with the four men in jetpacks who were trying to kill us." "The front door is open!" exclaimed Steve. "F#ck!" shouted Max, "The son of a bitch got away!" "I'm not surprised," said Violet, "He may be a terrible actor, but he knows how to cut and run."

"He won't get far," said Max, "I'm gonna call the Defiance Department, they owe me a couple of favors, they'll put the city on lock-down. Anyone trying to leave Washington will have to be searched, that includes wether or not they're wearing a mask."

"Sh$t!" exclaimed Jill as she assessed the damage to her apartment, "It's a good thing everything here is insured." "It's a good thing Klaus and Sunny stayed at Bureau headquarters," said Max, "I doubt they'd want to have been here for this."

"Hey!" shouted Steve, "We've got a live one!" He was standing over the gunman with the wounded shoulder. With a grim look on her face, Laura used her mind to lift the wounded gunman up, across the shattered sliding glass doors, out over the balcony and over the ledge. With one hand she maintained the mental connection that was holding him up, with the other, she removed the helmet so she could see the fear in his eyes.

"Who sent you?" asked Laura. "Nobody sent us!" exclaimed the gunman. "Don't f#ck with me!" exclaimed Laura as the red symbols that were a part of her began to glow, she then loosened her mental hold on the gunman, threatening to drop him 17 stories to the pavement below, minus his jetpack, "You and your pals nearly killed me and my friends. So once again, who sent you god damn it!"

"I told you!" exclaimed the gunman, "Nobody sent us! My friends and me work for ourselves." "They're bounty hunters," said Max as he checked the pockets of the slain gunmen, "They're members of The Bounty Hunters Guild of America." "So who put a hit out on me?" asked Jill, "Start talking buster or my friend here will introduce you to someone named gravity."

"We were after the old man!" exclaimed the Gunman, "I swear it! Some rich dude put out a $500,000 reward for his head!" "Put him down Laura," said Max, "I believe him. They were aiming for Olaf."

Several hours later after the police were finished documenting the crime scene and taking everyone's statement…

"You realize," said Max, "That with such a reward on Olaf's head, there'll be more bounty hunters coming after him." "And with the city on lockdown," said Jill, "not only is Olaf trapped here, who knows how many more bounty hunters are here as well?" "So it's a race them," said Violet, "Who ever gets to him first."

"I refuse to let another incident like today's happen again," said Max as he called Virgil on his cell phone, "Virgil? You heard about what happened at Jill's place today… Good, this city is crawling with trigger-happy bounty hunters just aching to kill Olaf. I need you to round up a few who'll work for us… You already have…Great, I expect you to take care of it… I'm sure that won't be a problem." He then hung up his cell phone. "Well?" asked Jill. "Virgil says he's got three bounty hunters in mind who can help us," said Max, "And he's talking to them right now."

The end of chapter 11. Who is Virgil talking to? Find out next chapter. Until then, please read and review. See you next time!


	12. Chapter 12: An Offfer That Can't Be Refu

Last time a quartet of bounty hunters wearing jetpacks attacked Jill's apartment. Our heroes, Jill, Max and Steve shot and killed three of the bounty hunters, while wounding the fourth. Laura interrogated their prisoner, who told that there was a bounty on Olaf, who escaped yet again. Max called Virgil, saying that they would need help containing the hundreds, if not thousands of bounty hunters who were converging on Washington D.C. Virgil said he had three in mind who could help. On with the show!

Chapter 12: An offer that can't be refused

"How the hell did we end up in this situation?" asked Sally-Ann as she, Michael and Zack sat and waited in one of the many offices that made up the administration area of the Bureau. They had made good time traveling from the Capital Building over to Jill's apartment, but were too late as that the jetpack wearing bounty hunters had already attacked, and Olaf had escaped.

They stayed back amongst the crowd of curious onlookers as the police and crime scene investigators entered the building. Realizing that they'd missed their first chance to nab Olaf, they decided to regroup and start looking again, when several men in dark suits and sunglasses approached them, who were led by one man with short blond hair and wraparound sunglasses. "Sally-Ann Carpenter," said the man, "Zack Sawyer and Michael Long. You three were rather hard to find, we've been meaning to talk to you for some time."

One hour later found Sally-Ann, Michael and Zack in Virgil Blake's office. "Now," said Virgil, "It has come to our attention that you three posses special abilities not found in the majority of the human race." "Wait a second," said Michael, "Who are you people and what is this place?" "And what do you want with us?" asked Zack. "Might as well tell them," said Leon Smyth-Falcon as he stood with Virgil, "They already signed the non-disclosure agreement."

"Okay then," said Virgil, "We are The Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense, and this is our main headquarters. As to why you are here, I'm prepared to make you an offer you can't refuse." "Why do I get the feeling," said Sally-Ann, "That whatever it is, I'm not gonna like it?" "It would help if you listened to the man," said Leon, "He's smarter that you can imagine."

"Thanks," said Virgil, "Moving along, part of the Bureau's mission is to find and help train people who are different; people who are both mentally and physically better, stronger and faster that the average human. This type of human has been classified as a Meta-Human."

"And you think we're Meta-Humans?" asked Sally-Ann. "We won't know for sure until after a detailed DNA scan," said Aaron Spartan, "But the chances of you three being so are pretty good." "So what do you want us for?" asked Zack.

"Here's the deal;" said Virgil, "We know that a huge bounty has been put on 'Count' Olaf, and that you three are after him. We also know that nearly every bounty hunter in the county is after Olaf. After today's fiasco at the residence of one Jill Sparrow, the city has been placed on Lockdown. All civilian's trying to get out of the city are being checked for disguises, so Olaf's chances of leaving the city are virtually null and void."

"You still haven't told us what you want with us." Said Michael. "He's getting to that," said Leon, "Let the man talk." "As I was saying," said Virgil, "What the Bureau wants you three for is to help keep track of your fellow bounty hunters and help keeping this city from exploding into violence from rival bounty hunter groups." "What's in it for us?" asked Sally-Ann, "A girl needs her spending cash."

"You will each receive $100,000 up front," said Virgil, "plus access to Bureau recourses to help improve your abilities." "So let me get this straight," said Sally-Ann, "First of all, we're okay with the whole 'Things that go bump in the night' thing," both Michael and Zack nodded in agreement, "And we won't go blabbing to anyone, like anyone would believe us.

"Second," she continued, "If the President of the United States, the leader of the free world wants Olaf dead, I'm cool with that as well, but what about us? We took the job to catch Olaf." "She's right," said Zack, "As bounty hunters, it's our job, no, our duty to catch fugitives. We still want to be involved in finding and catching the bastard."

"I see no reason why they can't still be involved in the hunt," said Aaron, "All we want from you is information on which bounty hunters are in the city and how they operate." "What are you gonna do?" asked Michael, "I know some of them, a few I can honestly call my friends." "All we what to know is who they are," said Virgil, "We'll pass that information onto local law enforcement and the FBI. They'll keep an eye on the bounty hunters in the city, and if they make any trouble; such as endangering innocent bystanders, destroying private and public property, they can be rounded up and detained."

"That sounds fair," said Zack, "but it's gonna cost you, I want $200,000, plus access to whatever weapons you're developing down here. Catching fugitives isn't all that I do, sometimes I run into some rather nasty beasties, if you know what I mean." "I think we can accommodate you," said Leon, "provided that your information bears fruit."

Just then Virgil's phone rang; "Yes Max…Yes, I heard about what happened at Jill's place… I'm already on it; I'm talking to three who just agreed to help us contain the other bounty hunters… Yep, all that's needed is to sign the papers, but it's going to cost us at least $400,000 in cash… If you don't see a problem, the I don't see one." He then hung up his phone. "That's that then," said Virgil, "Welcome to The bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense."

Meanwhile in Arlington, Virginia…

The creature known as Man-Thing stared across the Potomac River at the lights of Washington D.C. _I'm so close,_ it thought, _But with what those armatures did today it'll be difficult to reach the city. _However, when you're a creature such a Man-Thing, nothing seemed impossible. Taking a deep breath, Man-Thing plunged into the cold waters of the river. Ninety seconds later, Man-Thing emerged from the waters on the Maryland side of the Potomac, within the limits of Washington D.C. "I'm here Olaf," Man-Thing hissed out loud to no one in particular, "Your time in this world is almost over."

The end of chapter 12. Next chapter, Violet, Klaus and Sunny contemplate their situation, while Mr. Poe arrives to try to take them away. Also, a huge secret will be revealed. See you next time!


	13. Chapter 13: What Have We Gotten Into?

Last time Sally-Ann; Zack and Michael were 'drafted' by the Bureau. Virgil, along with Aaron and Leon, 'invited' them to join up with the Bureau, at least for the time being, in an attempt to contain the threat of the many bounty hunters roaming the streets of Washington D.C. Meanwhile, Man-Thing has crossed the Potomac River into Washington D.C. On with the show!

Chapter 13: 'What Have We Gotten Into?'

The next day repair crews arrived at Jill's apartment to clean up the mess made by yesterday's attack. Furniture was replaced, bullet holes in the walls were filled in and painted over and the sliding glass doors were replaced. The bloodstains from the slain bounty hunters were cleaned up as well, with new carpeting on the floor.

Violet, Klaus and Sunny weren't interested in the repairs at that time however. They were in Violet's room discussing their present situation. "If what happened yesterday is somewhat of a normal with Jill and her friends," said Klaus, "Then we're not that much safer here than with any other previous guardian of ours."

"How can you say that?" asked Violet, "Thanks to Jill and the others, Olaf never got a chance to do his thing this time." "And yet," said Klaus, "Despite all that we've seen that Max Kildare and the others can do, Olaf still got away." "It's those bounty hunter's fault that Olaf got away," said Violet, "So don't go blaming Jill and her friends."

"I'm not blaming anyone," said Klaus, "I'm just saying that we're not safe anywhere." "What are you suggesting?" asked Violet, "That we run away? Because I'm not leaving. For the first time in a long time, I feel like a complete person. I can finally use my talents to help better mankind. And don't deny that you're not enjoying access to the Bureau Archives."

'There's another reason that you don't want to leave,' said Sunny for the first time, 'And its initials are S.O.' "My feelings for Shawn have nothing to do with this!" said Violet rather defensively. "Sure it doesn't," said Klaus a little slyly.

Just then there was a knock on Violet's door. "Yes?" called Violet. "It's me," said Jill, "Shawn is in the living room, I think he wants to talk to you about something." "I'll be right out!" exclaimed Violet as she checked herself in the mirror, "How do I look?" she asked Klaus and Sunny. "You look fine," said Klaus. 'You're gonna knock him dead!' exclaimed Sunny. "Thanks," said Violet as she left the room. "It's official," said Klaus to Sunny, "Violet is in love."

Out in the main hall Jill, Laura and Steve were discussing the final papers with the repair crew. Violet then entered the living room where Shawn was waiting. "Hi," said Violet, "You wanted to talk with me?" "Indeed I do," said Shawn, "Violet…" but before he could go any further, Shawn was interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell.

_Damn!_ Thought both Shawn and Violet as Jill shouted, "I'll get it!" Jill then opened the front door, "Oh, Mr. Poe. That's right, you did say you'd come check on the children in a week. Won't you come in?" "I'd prefer to stay and chat," said Mr. Poe, "But I'm afraid I don't have much time. I've come to take the children away."

"What!" exclaimed Jill, Shawn and Violet. "Ah good there you are Violet," said Mr. Poe, "Be so kind as to collect your brother and sister, we're leaving as soon as possible." "Now wait just one damn minute," said Jill, "Why are you taking them away?" "Isn't it obvious?" said Mr. Poe, "After yesterday's fiasco, it occurred to me that they weren't safe here. I'm taking the children to a safer environment."

"Pardon me," said Jill, "But Violet, Klaus and Sunny are more safer with me than you can possibly imagine." "Then why did those gunmen attack your residence yesterday?" asked Mr. Poe. "They were after that bastard Olaf," said Steve, "And unlike the previous guardians you put the kids in, we were ready for Olaf. Oh, didn't you know, he came here yesterday posing as a private teacher."

"I did not know," said Mr. Poe, "But that's not the point, the children are simply not safe here." "I would die before I let anything happen to Violet," said Shawn, "And you're not taking her away, so shove off ass hole!" "Young man!" exclaimed Mr. Poe, "What makes you believe that you can protect Violet?"

"Because I love her," said Shawn, "I knew I loved Violet the minute I saw her. I only figured it out yesterday, and today I was going to tell her, when you interrupted me." While Violet was taking this in, a small voice in the back of her head, (which she would later say was women's intuition) said to her _'This is the part where you tell him that you love him as well.'_

"I love you to Shawn," said Violet, "It is only now that I realize that I loved you the moment I saw first saw you." _'Kiss him,'_ said the voice in Violet's head, _'You know you want to.'_ Violet moved closer to Shawn, and he moved closer to her. Their lips met, it felt like electricity to Violet. However the tender moment wouldn't last, thanks to Mr. Poe.

"Now Violet," said Mr. Poe, "I'm sure this is just a phase, you'll find other boys to like." "This isn't liking," said Jill, "This is true first love, something that rarely occurs in this age of Internet dating and online pornography. Like Shawn said, he'll die before he'd let anything happen to Violet, especially if that thing is Olaf."

"Speaking of Olaf," said Laura, "Something's been going on in my mind. How is it that Olaf knew where to find Violet and her siblings? He couldn't have hacked into the Miami federal court records, our contacts in Florida would have told us, and only a handful of people in the world are smart enough to create an untraceable hacking program, and Olaf isn't one of them."

"Laura's got a point," said Jill, "I told only three people where I was going with the kids. The first was Max Kildare, and he told Steve and Laura here, as well as Virgil Blake. It'll be a cold day in hell before any of my friends pass information to a pathetic excuse of a human being such as Olaf. The second," continued Jill, "Was Dr. Aaron Spartan. He probably told his brother Tyler, but they aren't stool pigeons. Which leaves only one person, and he's standing right in front of me." Jill then glared daggers at Mr. Poe.

"Of course," said Violet in a voice mixed with shock and rapidly growing rage, "It makes sense now. I've been asking myself all these months 'how does Olaf know where we are? How does he always finds us?' The answer was in front of me all this time. You Mr. Poe! You've been selling us out to Olaf from the beginning!"

"Of all the ridiculous theories I've ever heard!" exclaimed Mr. Poe, who was sweating rivers, "How dare you accuse me of collaborating with that madman!" "It makes sense," said Klaus who was listening ever since Mr. Poe came in the door, a look of furry on his face, "Why else would you have put us with Olaf in the first place, if not to have us killed?"

"Young man," said Mr. Poe, "I place you under the care of Count Olaf because he was you're closest relative." "Just because he was closest in distance," said Violet, "Doesn't make him family. So why are you working with him? Is it for the money?" "How much did Olaf promise you once we were dead?" raged Klaus, "Two percent of violet's inheritance? Three percent?"

"I am not working with Olaf!" exclaimed Mr. Poe, a look of absolute terror growing on his face. "There's one way to find out if you're telling the truth," said Jill, "Steve grab him!" Steve then grabbed hold of Mr. Poe by the arms. "Unhand me you filthy stupid savage!" exclaimed Mr. Poe. "I may be a few french-fries short of a Happy Meal," said Steve, "But I'm no savage, and I try my best to keep clean. Laura, do that voodoo that you do so well."

"Gladly," said Laura, but was stopped by Shawn, "Let me do it," he said, "You got to read Olaf's mind, so it's my turn." Shawn then placed his hand on Mr. Poe's head. "Let's see now," said Shawn as he scanned Mr. Poe's mind, "Uh huh, yes, he did it alright."

"Why?" asked Violet, "What would convince you to work with that madman? Does he have something on you? Did he threaten your family?" "No," said Shawn, "It was all for the money, three and a half percent of the take to be exact." "I was close," said Klaus.

"Alright it's true!" exclaimed Mr. Poe, "I am working with Olaf. All my life I've been handling other people's money, and it had gotten me nowhere! So when Count Olaf approach me with his plan to obtain the Baudelaire fortune, it was too good to be true. I was already in good graces with Mr. and Mrs. Baudelaire, so all I had to do was convince them to put me in charge of their estate in the unlikely event of their deaths. Once they were out of the way, it was easy to place you brats under the care of Count Olaf."

"Did you help Olaf kill my parents?" yelled Violet, "Were you there when our house was burned down?" "That was all Count Olaf's part," said Mr. Poe, "All I had to do was make sure that you brats were placed in homes where the Count can easily get to you." "Let me tell you something you Uncle-f#ck$ng son of a bitch!" raged Jill, "Your precious Olaf won't leave this city alive, he's as good as dead!"

"What do we do with this creep?" asked Laura, "Should be liquidate him?" "What say you Violet?" asked Shawn. "You know what," said Violet, "I don't give a damn about him, do what you want." "Are you going to kill me?" asked Mr. Poe, a look of blind fear on his face.

"If I had my way," said Steve, "I'd give you 'The Kiss of Death,' right on the lips. Then I'd squeeze your head until your skull cracked and your eyes pop out." "You wouldn't do that," said Klaus, "Would you?" "Of all the crimes a man can commit," said Steve, "What I hate the most is when person A betrays the trust of person B. You kids trusted Mr. Poe to find you a safe home where you can be loved and appreciated for who you are; a trust he betrayed. I believe that anyone who betrays such trust should die and rot in hell."

"Death is too good for him," said Laura, "So we're gonna make sure that he spends the rest of his life in a cold, dark 8 X 10 cell." "First thing's first," said Jill, "Where is Olaf?" "I don't know," said Mr. Poe, "And even if I did know, you'd get nothing from me." "He's telling the truth about not knowing," said Shawn as he removed his hand from Mr. Poe's person, "But I'd still find out if you did know. Please excuse me, I feel the need to scrub my hand extra hard."

"Well," said Jill as Shawn left to wash his hands, "Since you have no further information on Olaf, I see no reason why you should remain in my residence. Get him out of here!" With that, Steve and Laura lead Mr. Poe out of the apartment. In later days, Violet, Klaus and Sunny would hear in the news that Mr. Poe was indicted for his part in the murder of their parents, and as a result, was sentenced to life imprisonment. They never saw or heard from him again.

The end of chapter 13. Next chapter, Klaus comes up with an answer on how he, Violet and Sunny can stay with Jill. See you next time!


	14. Chapter 14: A Potential Solution

Last time Violet, Klaus and Sunny contemplated their situation. Mr. Poe then showed up to take the kids away. Laura and Jill spoke their suspicions that Mr. Poe was working with Olaf, suspicions that was confirmed when Shawn read Mr. Poe's mind. Mr. Poe has been working with Olaf since the beginning. Steve wanted to kill him, but Laura had other plans. Meanwhile, Violet and Shawn confessed their love for each other. On with the show!

Chapter 14: A Potential Solution

"You realize," said Max to Jill, "That it's only a matter of time before Social Services comes a knocking and they take the kids away from you." They were in the lunchroom of the Bureau, waiting for Violet to emerge from the labs where she and Virgil were continuing their work on fusion power. "It occurred to me," said Jill, "Now that Mr. Poe has been exposed as the lying, scheming traitor he is, The Department of Children's Federal Services is gonna look in on me. It doesn't take much for those DCFS bastards to determine weather or not I'm a proper guardian."

"What are you talking about?" said Laura, who, along with Shawn, D.P., Julie, Lance and Tyler were also in the lunchroom, "You're a great guardian. I've sensed from Violet, Klaus and Sunny that they're the happiest they've been in a long time since you took them in." "I know," said Jill, "But despite all that we've done for mankind, all our powers, I have no say in this matter. It's a government affair."

At that time Klaus entered the lunchroom, carrying a large book in his hands. "Jill," said Klaus, "I think I may have a solution to the problem of our staying with you." Just then Violet and Virgil came in from the labs. "We're so close!" exclaimed Violet, "We're so close, yet we're still so far away!" "What's wrong?" asked Shawn.

"I'll tell you what's wrong," said Virgil, "We've almost got the problem of fusion power solved, yet with every simulation we run, something goes wrong. With every simulation, every time we try to break the 'break-even point' something causes a short in the virtual circuitry."

"Maybe you need better virtual insulation," said Lance, "Or maybe the simulation program is bad." "There's nothing wrong with the simulation software," said Violet as she undid the ribbon on her hair, "It's human error. We just don't know what." "Well I may have a solution to a more urgent problem," said Klaus as he opened his book, "It says here that a minor can be declared financially mature, an as a result, have access to his or her inheritance."

"So I won't have to wait until I'm eighteen," said Violet, "What good does that do to keep Social Services from taking us away from Jill?" "It means," said Klaus with a huge grin, "That as the eldest sibling, you can choose for us wether or not Sunny and myself can stay with Jill. It gets better; because you'll be financially mature, Olaf can't touch the fortune, no matter what diabolical scheme he concocts."

"Klaus you're the best!" exclaimed Violet, "How do I become financially mature?" "Well first you have to apply for it," said Klaus, "Once all the paperwork has been processed, you need to be reviewed by a committee. Then you have to take a huge test; followed by more paperwork, then if all goes well, you'll be declared."

"Don't worry about the paperwork," said Max, "I have a few friends in the system who'll help speed up the process." "And I'm sure whoever is on the committee," said Jill, "will be reasonable once they're informed what's at stake here." "So all I have to do is study for this test," said Violet, "shouldn't be a problem."

"I'll do everything in my power to help you study," said Shawn, "Everything and more." "Just hearing you say that," said Violet, "Makes me feel like I can do it." "Here's a suggestion," said Jill, "Why don't you two lovebirds use my office to study in? But keep the door open." "I'll bring whatever books you need," said Klaus. With that, Violet, Klaus and Shawn left for Jill's office on the upper level.

"Well that should solve that problem," said Max, "But Olaf is still out there, along with several bounty hunters out to kill him and anyone who gets in their way." "Is it true," said Julie, "That the President, our President ordered the death of Olaf?" "You'd better f#ck$ng believe it!" said D.P., "Olaf is as good as dead."

"Not unless we find him," said Max, but was interrupted by Laura, "Max, you said tell you if I felt that presence again, well I just did. And it was centered around Violet just now. In fact, it seemed to have been near Violet since yesterday, since the attack at Jill's place. I've been so occupied I haven't noticed it. God I'm so stupid!"

"No," said Max, "You're only human, well Meta-Human anyway. The point is Violet has attracted the attention of this presence. I'd better give Maria a call and have her come check Violet out." "If this presence has centered its self around Violet," said Jill, "Shouldn't she be isolated until we know what it is?" "So far the presence hasn't done any harm," said Laura, "If it looks like its taken control of Violet, then we'll take action."

"As I was saying," said Max, "We need to find Olaf. There are a lot of places he can hide in the city, not to mention all the mess the bounty hunters may cause." "Which is why we've 'drafted' a couple of them to help us keep the other bounty hunters under control."

"That's a good idea," said Tyler, "Who did you 'draft?'" Just then Steve entered the lunchroom, followed by Sally-Ann, Zack and Michael. "Here we have our lunchroom," said Steve, who was obviously giving a tour, "Where you can order anything you wish."

Just then, Sally-Ann and her fellow bounty hunters saw those sitting at the tables. Sally-Ann's eyes met Julie's; Zack's met Tyler's and Michael's met Lance's. "You!" exclaimed Julie as her spring-loaded pistols popped out from her arms and pointed them at Sally-Ann, while Sally-Ann pointed her shotgun at Julie.

"Son of a bitch!" yelled Michael as he pulled out and activated his energy swords, while Lance activated his double bladed energy sword. Neither Zack nor Tyler said anything as they both activated their power armor. Both sets of armor were identical, but while Tyler's was white, Zack's was blue and green.

"Okay," said Steve as the two groups prepared for combat, "Looks like we've got some bitterness here." "For once," said Virgil, "We're in agreement."

The end of chapter 14. Next time, the source of this showdown is revealed. See you next time!


	15. Chapter 15: Old Rivals

Last time, realizing that Social Services were going to take Violet and her siblings away from Jill, Klaus suggested that Violet should go through a process that would make her financially mature. As she went off to study for the upcoming test, Laura informed Max that the presence that she'd been feeling has been centered around Violet for some time now. Just then Sally-Ann, Zack and Michael entered the lunchroom, and locked eyes with Julie, Tyler and Lance. Apparently the six of them have some history between them as they each readied their weapons. On with the show!

Chapter 15: Old Rivals

Just then, Sally-Ann and her fellow bounty hunters saw those sitting at the tables. Sally-Ann's eyes met Julie's; Zack's met Tyler's and Michael's met Lance's. "You!" exclaimed Julie as her spring-loaded pistols popped out from her arms and pointed them at Sally-Ann, while Sally-Ann pointed her shotgun at Julie.

"Son of a bitch!" yelled Michael as he pulled out and activated his energy swords, while Lance activated his double bladed energy sword. Neither Zack nor Tyler said anything as they both activated their power armor. Both sets of armor were identical, but while Tyler's was white, Zack's was blue and green.

"Okay," said Steve as the two groups prepared for combat, "Looks like we've got some bitterness here." "For once," said Virgil, "We're in agreement." Quick a lightning Max stepped in between the two groups of people threatening to kill each other. "Just what the f#ck is going on here!" he shouted.

"You want to know what the f#ck is going on here?" asked Julie, her guns aimed at Sally-Ann's eyes, "I'll tell you what the f#ck is going on here, this bitch stole my boyfriend." "You lying slut!" exclaimed Sally-Ann, her shotgun aimed at Julie's face, "He was my boyfriend! You stole him from me! I was only taking back what was mine!"

"Since we're on the subject of 'what the f#ck,'" said Michael, his swords pointing at Lance, "This bastard here took my grandfather's family ring. To ad insult to injury, he pawned it!" "That's a damn lie and you know it!" shouted Lance, his twin-bladed sword ready for the kill; "I found that ring in the gutter, finders keepers!"

"What about you Tyler," said Virgil, "What's your problem with Zack?" "Yeah Ty," said Aaron who was watching the drama unfold, "You want to explain this?" The helmet on Tyler's head retracted so he could talk more clearly; "My problem, big brother, is that this 'used rubber' and I worked together on building a battle armor suit like the one in 'Iron Man.' Only he ran off with the blueprints to work on his own, taking all the credit with him!"

"It was my idea in the first place!" exclaimed Zack as his helmet retracted, "You were hogging all the glory for yourself!" "You lying bastard!" yelled Tyler as his helmet covered his head again. Zack's helmet unfolded as well. Both armor suits then revealed similar hidden weapons: Machine guns; rockets; flame-throwers, lasers, you get the picture.

"Alright that's enough!" yelled Max as he drew his revolvers, "Now I understand that you people have history, and that there is hostility between you. However, the Bureau as a policy for such hostility: You want to kill each other, do it on your own f#ck$ng time!"

"He's right," said Laura, "The mission comes first. Right now, the mission is to find and kill that creep Olaf, and at the same time try to keep the city from being torn apart from all the bounty hunters floating around on the streets."

At Laura's words, Tyler's armor retracted into his vest, while Zack's armor retracted into his. "Truce?" asked Tyler as he held out his hand. "Truce," said Zack as he shook Tyler's hand, "Until the mission is over."

Meanwhile Michael and Lance had put their energy swords away and were shaking hands as well; "Until the mission is over," said Lance. "Agreed," said Michael. Sally-Ann and Julie just glared at each other. "Well," said Jill, "if you can't put your differences aside for the mission, then you have no business here."

"Then I'll put my differences aside," said Julie, "For the sake of the mission." "Same here," said Sally-Ann, "But when the mission is over and Olaf is dead, I'll kill you." "I'll be waiting," said Jill, "Waiting to send you to hell." "Enough!" exclaimed Jill, "Now stop taunting each other and shake hands." Reluctantly the two women shook ands and left the lunchroom in opposite directions. Tyler and Lance also left in one direction, while Zack and Michael left in the other.

"Well," said Steve, "I think that counted as a Soap Opera moment." "Indeed," said Aaron, "I didn't know my brother had such a bitter rivalry." "Perhaps what is needed here," said Virgil "is someone to keep an eye on the six of them so that they don't kill each other before we kill Olaf." Everyone looked at D.P. "Oh all right!" he said, "I'll do it. But don't say that I never did anything for you."

"That takes care of that," said Max, "Now I need to give Maria a call." "What for?" asked Aaron, "Last I heard she was still in Rome." "We may need Maria," said Jill, "For some unknown presence has been following Violet around." "Whatever it is," said Laura, "It seems to have attached itself to her. It doesn't seem to be harmful, but I want Maria's opinion on the matter." "You'll get it," said Max, "I can have her over here tomorrow."

The end of chapter 15. Next chapter, as Violet studies for the test that will determine her future, the nature of the presence around her is revealed. See you next time!


	16. Chapter 16: Posessed

Last time it was revealed that there was hostile history between Julie and Sally-Ann, Michael and Lance, as well as Tyler and Zack. Max imposed his patented 'if you want to kill each other, do it on your own f#ck$ng time!' policy. The rivals agreed to put their differences aside for the duration of the mission. Meanwhile Max decided to have Maria return to Bureau H.Q. to determine what to do about the presence that Laura has been sensing; a presence that has centered itself around Violet. On with the show!

Chapter 16: Possessed

After three days of almost constant studying, Violet was on the verge of both mental and physical exhaustion. With Shawn's help Violet had learned more in the past 72 hours that she had in her life so far. Yet there was still so much to do. "If you keep this up," said Shawn who was sounding rather concerned, "You'll burn out."

"And if I fail the test," said Violet, "If that review board doesn't give its approval, I, along with Klaus and Sunny will be taken away. We'll be open to Olaf and his lackeys even more than ever. But the worst part, I may never see you again." "That would be the worst," agreed Shawn, "But pushing your mind to the point of no return won't solve anything. You need to take time to relax."

"He's right," said Steve who was also in the room, "You got to take time to enjoy life. Live a little, have fun, and all that jazz." He placed his hand on Violet's shoulder in a reassuring way, but Violet slapped his hand away sharply. "Don't you touch me!" she shouted, a mixed look of disgust and rage on her face, "You inbred pervert!"

"I'm sorry Fay!" exclaimed Steve, not realizing exactly what he said before he said it. "No," said Violet in a much calmer voice, "I'm sorry. I don't know why I said that. Wait, what did you call me?"

"I called you," said Steve, "I called you Fay." Now Steve isn't exactly the smartest apple in the barrel, sometimes he can act like he has no brain at all. But on rare occasions, he tends to have moments of clarity where everything that's been running around his head seems to come into focus.

"Oh my god!" said Steve, "Can it be?" "Can what be?" asked Shawn. "There's only one way to find out," said Steve as he placed his hand on Violet's shoulder again. Before Shawn's eyes, Violet leaped around to behind Steve and placed him in a full-nelson hold. "I said don't touch me you pig f#ck$ng son of a bitch!" yelled Violet.

"I was right!" exclaimed Steve, "I was right! I gotta tell Max!" Steve then broke out of Violet's hold and ran out of the room. Both Violet and Shawn were in a shocked silence. Shawn spoke first; "How do you know how to do a full-nelson?" "I don't," said Violet, "I never learned any wrestling moves. Shawn, what's happening to me?" "I don't know," said Shawn as he held her hand, unafraid of her reaction, "But whatever is going on with you, we'll get through it together."

Steve found Max in the main hall of the lower level. He, along with Jill, Laura, D.P., Tyler and Julie were waiting for the arrival of Maria Van Helsing, who was returning from Rome. "Why does she always do this?" asked Max, "Maria knows that I hate it when people are late."

"She's just messing with you," said D.P. "Well I don't like to be messed with," said Max just as Steve came rushing into the hall. "Max!" shouted Steve, "You're not gonna believe what I just found out!" "Just a minute Steve," said Max, just as the elevator opened up to reveal Maria Van Helsing.

Maria, a native born of Munich, Germany stood at 5'9" with shoulder length dark brown hair. She had light brown gloves on her hands, which she never takes off in the presence of others. Max and the other Ramblers have often asked her why, but Maria has never told anyone why.

"You're late," said Max in a slightly annoyed tone, "Again." "An Exorcist is never late, Max," said Maria in a light German accent, but she was interrupted by Max, "yes, yes I know the rest; 'nor is she ever early. She arrives exactly when she's needed.' That routine has gotten old rather fast."

"Well I'm sorry," said Maria, "But I was needed elsewhere." "We'll you're needed here," said Jill, "My foster daughter has an otherworldly presence following her." "That's what I'm trying to tell you people!" exclaimed Steve, "That presence that's been following Violet is some sort of a ghost; in fact, it's the ghost of Fay Valentine."

"That's not possible," said Jill, "Fay got hit by the killing curse back on Death Eater Island. Her soul can't have come back to the mortal plain." "Well that's not entirely true," said Maria, "While the immortal soul, upon death, moves on to whatever afterlife awaits for him or her, it has been known that the living soul or _katra_ to remain behind, hence the concept of ghosts."

"So what you're saying is that the presence that I've been feeling," said Laura, "Is Fay's _katra_?" "Exactly," said Maria as she pulled out from her pocket a long black cigar and a lighter, "When Fay died, her living soul, her spirit, what made Fay her, remained behind." "Do I have to remind you that this is a non-smoking facility?" said Max.

"Oh go suck an egg," said Maria as she lit her cigar, "What are you gonna do? Arrest me? Besides, I'm down to one every other day. Anyway, I need to see the child in order to determine if she has been truly possessed."

Meanwhile Shawn was still holding Violet's hand. As Violet gazed into his eyes, a small voice with a medium New England accent in the back of her mind said '_Go on kiss him, what are you waiting for?'_ Without any further hesitation, Violet's lips met Shawn's_. 'You my friend,'_ said the voice in Violet's head, _'are one lucky girl to find such a great catch.'_

As Violet and Shawn continued their kiss, she asked in her mind, _who are you? Because I can tell that you're not just some voice in my head. 'I'm just someone who found out the hard way,'_ said the voice, _'that "you can't go home" has more than one meaning.' Well what are you doing in my head?_ Asked Violet_. 'It's not like I wanted to be in your head,'_ said the voice, _'You just happen to be in the right place at the wrong time.'_

Just then Max, Jill and Maria entered the room, followed by Steve and Laura. "Oh!" exclaimed Jill as she saw Violet and Shawn kissing, "So Sorry! We'll just wait outside! Don't mind us!" She hurried the others out of the room and shut the door. "What was that about?" asked Shawn. "I don't know," said Violet, "but since we're alone again, let's not waste it." _'My thoughts exactly,'_ said the voice in Violet's head as she and Shawn kissed again.

"Why did you do that?" asked Steve. "It's simple," said Jill, "Those two are in love, and I'm not gonna interfere in true first love. We'll give them ten minutes."

Ten minutes later…

With all kissing done with, Jill and co. reentered the room. "Sorry about that earlier," said Jill, "Now Violet, I want you to meet a friend of mine. Maria Van Helsing, she'll see if she can help you with whatever is going on with you."

Maria sat down across from Violet and took a good look at her. After about three minutes Maria finally spoke, "It's true, someone's _katra_ is in Violet." "It's Fay!" exclaimed Steve, "Only Fay would react the way Violet did when I touched her."

"If you touch me again," snapped Violet, a look of intense disgust on her face, "You'll lose your hand, you sick f#ck!" Realizing what she said, Violet apologized sincerely, "I'm so sorry! It wasn't me!" _It was you,_ Violet thought, _wasn't it? 'Yes,'_ said the voice, _'I just can't stand to be touched without my permission.' Well you let Shawn touch me. 'That's because I like him.' Well back off! _thought Violet, _He's mine!_

"What do you mean, it wasn't you?" asked Laura. "There's this voice in my head," said Violet, "And when Steve touched my shoulder the voice took control for a minute." "Was today the first time you heard the voice?" asked Maria. "No," answered Violet, "it was after Olaf came to Jill's apartment that I've felt this strong feeling inside me, and when Shawn said he loved me, the feeling got stronger, and I heard a voice telling me to tell Shawn that I loved him. I just thought it was woman's intuition."

"Are you in contact with the voice?" asked Maria. Violet nodded 'yes.' "Can you ask if the voice has a name?" asked Maria. "I'll try," said Violet as she thought, _they want to know your name. Are you Fay Valentine? 'I guess so,'_ said the voice, _'At least I think that was name. I guess I am Fay Valentine.'_

"She says she thinks she's Fay Valentine," said Violet. "That settles that," said Steve. "It's not settled," said Shawn, who was joined by Jill, "It's far from settled. How do we get Fay's _katra _out of Violet's head?" "I don't know," said Maria, "I've never seen anything like this, when the Katra of a Meta-Human has possessed another Meta-Human." "Well lucky for us," said Max, "We've got plenty of other Meta-Humans to figure out this problem."

The end of chapter 16. Next chapter Virgil comes up with how to separate Fay's _katra_ from Violet, but Max doesn't like what Virgil suggests. See you next time!


	17. Chapter 17: Outlawed Solution

Last time Maria Van Helsing returned form Rome (late as usual). She determined that the strange presence that Laura had been sensing, the one that has centered itself on Violet, is in fact the living soul or katra of the late Fay Valentine. It seems that Fay's _katra_ or living soul has attached itself to Violet. Now Max and the other Ramblers have to figure out how to separate Fay's soul from Violet's body. On with the show!

Chapter 17: Outlawed Solution

"It is of the utmost importance," said Maria to Jill as they spoke in a private area, later that day, along with Max, Virgil and Laura, "That we separate Fay's _katra_ from Violet's body. It must be done as soon as possible." "What's the rush?" asked Jill. "With every case where an individual carries more than his or her own _katra_," said Maria, "Said person tends to die within months of the initial possession."

"What do you mean 'tends to die'?" asked Jill. "The human body isn't meant to house more than one soul," said Maria, "With an additional soul in the body, more and more energy is used up. Eventually, the possessed one dies from both mental and physical exhaustion."

There was a moment of stunned silence before Max asked, "Okay then, and how do we separate Fay's soul from Violet's body?" "I don't know," said Maria, "It's not like a demon has taken hold of Violet. Demons, I can handle easily. But a human soul, that's an entirely different matter."

"There's another matter," said Laura, "Assuming we get Fay's soul out of Violet's body, what are we going to do with it? Are we going to keep it in a jar or something?" "I've been thinking about that," said Virgil, "And I may have an answer. But you won't like it Max."

"When you talk like that," said Max, "I already don't like it, but what is it?" "We make a clone body of Fay," said Virgil, "And transfer her soul into it." "You were right," said Max, "I don't like it." "I thought cloning was illegal," said Jill, "Or at least in America it is." "It is illegal," said Virgil, "But I believe, in this case, the law can afford to look the other way."

"How are you going to clone Fay?" asked Laura. "That's the beauty of it," said Virgil, a huge grin on his face, "Her DNA is on file in the computer core, plus there's 3 pints of her blood frozen in the med lab." "How long will it take you to make an adult body of Fay?" asked Max. "At least a week," said Virgil, "Maybe ten days. But the final decision is yours, Max."

"I can use the time to find a way to safely transfer Fay's _katra,_" said Maria, "But it's your decision Max." Max thought for a moment before answering, "Do it."

The end of chapter 17. Short and to the point, that's how it is. Next chapter, the full story behind the rivalry between Julie and Sally-Ann; Zack and Tyler; and Michael and Lance are revealed. See you next time!


	18. Chapter 18: Backgrounds

Last time Max and the others discussed what to do about Fay's _katra _in Violet's body. Virgil suggested that, assuming it can be safely removed form Violet; Fay's _katra_ could be resituated in a clone body of Fay. Max agreed to the plan, while Maria began her research on how to transfer Fay's _katra_ into her new body. On with the show!

Chapter 18: Backgrounds

Three days have passed since Max gave Virgil the green light to make a clone body of Fay. Since then our heroes have had their hands full from searching for Olaf, and keeping control over the many bounty hunters roaming the streets. Meanwhile Violet continued her studies in preparation for the test that would determine her future, while Shawn stood beside her for emotional support.

Maria had barricaded herself in the archives in search for a method of transferring Fay's katra out of Violet's body into the new one. Klaus had offered to help, but Maria explained that she worked better alone.

At this time Julie, Tyler and Lance were in the lunchroom taking a break from hunting Olaf. Julie was cleaning her guns; Lance was working on his energy sword, while Tyler was reading a science journal of some sort. Steve and Aaron were also there. "Hey Ty," said Aaron to his brother, "I've been meaning to ask you, just what is it between you and that bounty hunter Zack?" "You really want to know, brother?" asked Tyler.

"Well yes," said Aaron, "It concerns me when my brother has a rival." "It's not just a petty rivalry," said Tyler, "myself and Zack are both huge fans of 'Iron Man,' we both had the same dream of building a working battle suit. The two of us collaborated on the project. When the schematics were finished for the battle suit, he stole a copy and ran off with it."

"That's not what I heard," said D.P. who was also in the lunchroom, "He told me that you stole the copy of the plans." "Zack Sawyer is a liar and a thief!" exclaimed Tyler, "He should rot in hell!" "Well that's your opinion," said Aaron, "It's a free country."

"Since we're on the subject of rivalry origins," said Steve, "Julie, what is it between you and Sally-Ann? Did you really steal her boyfriend?" "Only after she stole mine," said Julie as she cleaned her pistols, "She swore an oath to kill me. It was only fair that I swore an oath to kill her." "Well as Max is so fond of saying," said Aaron, "'if you want to kill each other, do it on your own time.' The mission comes first.'"

"And as soon as the mission is over," said Julie, "And that bastard Olaf is dead, that bitch Sally-Ann will wish she was never born." "Yeah," said Steve, "What about you Lance?" After a few seconds of silence, Lance answered, "There was a time when I called Michael friend. That story about my stealing and selling his grandfather's ring, that's nothing compared to 'the straw that broke the camel's back.' What made us decide to kill each other was worst thing possible to happen to two friends; we both fell in love with the same woman. To make matters worse, she fell in love with the two of us. Rather than chose, she killed herself."

"Damn," said D.P., "That's rough." "It tore my heart in half when I heard that she slashed her wrists. At the funeral, I looked Michael in the eye, told him that it was his fault that the woman we'd both fallen in love with was dead. I swore that the next time I saw him, I'd kill him. And I would have if Max hadn't interfered. And as 'Hawkeye' just said, when the mission is over, I shall kill Michael Long."

"Wow," said Steve, "Who needs soap operas when life imitates art?" Just then Sally-Ann, Michael and Zack entered the lunchroom. The two groups of rivals saw each other, and the bounty hunters went to the other side of the lunchroom. "The tension in this room is so thick," whispered D.P, "You can cut it with a bread knife." "When you people do get around to killing each other," said Steve, "Make sure you do it where I can get good seats." "You are one sick f#ck Steve Austin," said Aaron. "I know," said Steve.

Meanwhile…

The creature known as Man-Thing stood alone in the observation room atop the Washington Monument. "I know you are out there Olaf," hissed Man-Thing to itself, "You can hide from justice, but you can't hide from me for long. I shall find you." It called its contact on its cell phone. "Have you located the target yet?" asked the digitally altered voice on the other end of the line.

"No," said Man-Thing, "But there's only so many places the target can hide. It's only a matter of time." "Make sure it is you who eliminates Olaf," said the voice, "There are reports of a large number of bounty hunters in the city." "Amateurs the lot of them," said Man-Thing, "They have no chance of finding the target. Trust me, Olaf shall die by my hands. And when it's all over, and his eyes go dead, the hell I send him to will seem like heaven after what I do to him."

The end of chapter 18. Next chapter, we look in on Violet and Shawn as they spend an evening of romance in the city. Plus, Jill tells Violet a rather juicy story from her past. See you next time!


	19. Chapter 19: Love Long Lost

Last time we learned the source of the hatred between Julie & Sally-Ann; Michael & Lance; and Tyler & Zack. 'Nuff said. On with the show!

Chapter 19: Love Long Lost

"You're asking too much of yourself," said Shawn as he watched Violet continue to cram for her upcoming test, "If you keep this pace up you'll burn out your frontal lobe, or something like that." "Well what do you want me to do?" asked Violet, "This is one test I can not; will not; must not fail."

"I know how important this is for you Violet," said Shawn, "But you need to take time to relax and enjoy life. Otherwise life will pass you by." "I don't have time to relax," said Violet. "Then make time to relax!" said Shawn. "It's my life!" exclaimed Violet, "If I want to study all the time, then it's my choice!" "It's also your choice to have fun!" yelled Shawn.

The two glared at each other for a minute or two. Shawn broke the ice, "What is this? Why are we yelling at each other?" "It's our first fight," said Violet, who then laughed, "And we haven't even been on a real date yet." "Well that's something I intend to rectify," said Shawn, "No more studying for you today, I'm taking you out tonight for the best Washington D.C. has to offer."

And that's just what Shawn did. That evening Shawn took Violet to the many museums in the city, had dinner at the restaurant of her choice, and saw a show of her choice. He had her home at 10:30 on the dot as specified by Jill (under threat of castration). "I had a really great time tonight," said Violet, "You were right, I needed to relax."

"I'm glad I could have helped," said Shawn, "I hope you'll have time for more relaxation." "We'll see," said Violet. She bent up to kiss him, their lips met. They kissed for at least 30 seconds, breaking apart only for air. She went into the apartment building, and he left.

Violet entered Jill's apartment to find Jill sitting on the couch waiting for her. "Do you know what time it is young lady?" asked Jill. "10:35," said Violet, "So I'm a few minutes late, so what? Shawn had me back at the building at 10:30." "I'm not worried about Shawn," said Jill, "That murdering bastard Olaf is still out there, waiting for his chance to kill you."

"So what," said Violet, "I was with Shawn the whole time, and he'll never give Olaf a chance to get near me." Violet sat down in the chair next to the couch, "When I'm with Shawn," said Violet, "I feel like I can do anything, like nothing can ever hurt me. Is that what it feels like to be in love?"

"I don't know," said Jill, "I thought I knew what it felt like to be in love, but now, upon retrospect, I just don't know." "Want to talk about it?" asked Violet. "Well," said Jill hesitantly, "Why not. A few years ago, there was a man, his name was Andrew Carpenter. He was a Meta-Human, one of the original Ramblers like Max, Leon and my self. Andrew's power was of the mind; he could take any broken machine and restore it to new in a heartbeat, he also knew his way around explosives; building and disarming bombs.

"Carpenter," said Violet, "Was he related to Sally-Ann Carpenter? The bounty hunter Virgil 'drafted?'" "It's a possibility," said Jill, "I'll have to check. Anyway, we started dating in the fall of 2003. Nothing serious, we'd go see a movie together, meet at the same social events. July of 2004 was when we took our relation to the next level."

"Did you sleep together?" asked Violet anxiously. "Yes," answered Jill, "Several times we made love, and each time was incredible. But that's not the point. What is important was that we'd gotten so close, he was prepared to ask me to marry him." "What happened?" asked Violet.

"He never got the chance to ask me," continued Jill, "It was Halloween night of 2004, Virgil and I were operating in deep cover at a private high school in Denver, Colorado. The Bureau had received word that a demonic cult was preparing to kidnap a young girl who had mental powers beyond all previous encounters. That girl was Laura.

"Virgil and I were escorting Laura to a safe extraction point when the cultists ambushed us. They took Laura, burned out Virgil's eyes and left me for dead. Fortunately, I'm rather hard to kill. Max and the rest of the team arrived and we tracked the cultists to their base. We rescued Laura and chased the cultists to their secondary hideout in the mountains.

"There, Laura discovered that her best friend was part of the demon cult and had betrayed her. This got Laura so mad that her mind ripped a hole in the fabric of reality. Andrew was unlucky to be standing too close to the hole, or thinny as it is called scientifically. Leon and I tried to save Andrew, but the pull of the thinny was too strong, Andrew got dragged into the thinny."

"My god!" exclaimed Violet, "What happened to him?" "I don't know," said Jill, "Or maybe I just don't want to know. On the other side of a thinny is another dimension, a sort of world between worlds. This world between worlds or 'Todash Space' is a world of infinite darkness, one filled with creatures too hideous to be described my man. Andrew was as good as dead when he got dragged in.

"Even if he survived the creatures of Todash Space," continued Jill, "I couldn't go after him. The Bureau has a strict policy concerning thinnies. They must be closed before they grow too big, otherwise they'll distort the fabric of reality for miles around. A large explosive device was detonated at the site of the thinny and it closed."

"I'm so sorry for you," said Violet, "I had no idea something like this happened to you." "Yes you did," said Jill, "I told you and your siblings that I knew what it was like to lose someone you love. Anyway, this is why I didn't want you, Klaus and Sunny involved in the Bureau, so many of us have died in battle, been mutilated, committed suicide, assassinated or been driven insane. I don't want you to meet a similar fate."

"I won't," said Violet, "I've got too much to live for; my brother and sister, the Bureau, Shawn and most of all you." "Oh I'm not that important," said Jill. "But you are," said Violet, "You're the first person who's really cared about us since our parents were killed. I don't know how I can ever repay you." "By being the best you can be," said Jill, "That and more."

The end of chapter 19. Next chapter, as the hunt for Olaf continues, a traitor is suspected within the Bureau. See you next time!


	20. Chapter 20: One Step Behind

Last time, after a heated argument, Violet and Shawn went out on the town. After Violet's date with Shawn, Jill told Violet about her relationship with Andrew Carpenter, a fellow Rambler who got sucked into a thinny on Halloween night of 2004. On with the show!

Chapter 20: One Step Behind

The next day found Max, Leon and Jill being grilled by Bureau Head Callahan in his office. "This is not amusing," said Callahan as he read the report given to him by Max, Leon and Jill, "Seven times since this mission started you Rambles have gotten close to Olaf to catch him, and seven times you arrive at his location, only to discover that he'd just left. If you think this is funny, you're wrong."

"It's not funny," said Max, "It's the truth, that bastard Olaf keeps slipping away every time we get close to him." "Remind me please," said Callahan, "How long has it been since the President ordered us to catch and kill Olaf? Two weeks now?" "Two and a half," said Jill.

"Yes," said Callahan, "Two and a half weeks. That's almost eighteen days. Eighteen days, that's unacceptable in my book." "What do you want us to do?" asked Leon. "I want you to catch and kill that pig-f#ck#r Olaf," said Callahan, "And I want him caught and killed yesterday." "Well I'm sorry sir," said Max, "But with every lead we get as to his location, we always miss catching him by five minutes."

"On the other hand," said Jill, "The situation with the rouge bounty hunters seems almost wrapped up." "I don't give a flying f#ck about rouge bounty hunters!" exclaimed Callahan, "That murdering lunatic Olaf has made a mockery of every law enforcement agency in the country, and now he's making a mockery of us! I'll bet every senator and congressperson that knows about the Bureau is laughing at us up on Capital Hill. I want Olaf dead and I want him dead yesterday! Do I make myself clear? Or do I have to find another group of Meta-Humans to get the job done?"

"No need for that sir," said Jill, "we've never failed to get a job done, we won't fail this one. "Good," said Callahan as he left the office. He returned two seconds later, "What am I doing? This is my office! You three get out!"

"What a complete asshole!" exclaimed Leon as the returned to the lower level of the Bureau. "Who thought it was a good idea to make him head of the Bureau?" asked Jill. "The head of the Bureau serves at the pleasure of the President," said Max, "He has the authority to appoint and dismiss whoever he chooses." "Good thing next year is an election year," said Leon, "I hope to have a talk with whoever wins before he chooses our next boss."

As they entered the recreation room, Max paused, a look of shock and slight fear on his face. "What's wrong Max?" asked Jill, "I've rarely seen you like this." "I've just had a terrible thought," said Max, "What if the reason that Olaf has been evading our efforts to catch him, is due to the fact that someone is informing him on when we're about to strike, someone within the Bureau."

"I hope to god and Jesus Christ that you're joking," said Leon, "A traitor, in the Bureau? How can you think something like that?" "No," said Jill, "It makes perfect sense. Olaf may think himself a brilliant criminal mastermind, but he really isn't that bright. He needed Mr. Poe to inform him on where Violet and her siblings were. Now he has someone informing him on when he's about to be taken down."

"Who can it be?" asked Steve, who was standing behind Max, "Who in their right mind would betray our trust to work for that butt-f#ck$ng son of a bitch?" "You have a nasty habit of eavesdropping," said Jill, "Maybe you're the mole." "You take that back you limey whore!" exclaimed Steve, "My loyalty to the Bureau is second only to the United States of America!"

"I'm sorry I doubted your loyalty," said Jill, "But if you call me a whore again, I'll kick you in the family jewels." "Why would you kicking Steve in the nuts?" asked Virgil as he entered the recreation room. "Because he called Jill a limey whore," said Leon. Just like that (insert finger snapping sound) Jill kicked Leon right in the groin.

"I should have seen that coming," groaned Leon as he crumpled to the floor, his hands covering his assaulted genitals. "Sorry if I sound somewhat out to lunch," said Virgil, "For once," whispered Steve, "But how did this get started?" asked Virgil. "We think there's a mole in the Bureau," said Max, "And that he or she is passing information to Olaf."

"Get the f#ck out!" said Virgil, "Who would do that?" "We don't know yet," said Jill as she helped Leon up, "But I think it's for the best that we keep this to our selves, the less people who know about it, the better." "Don't worry about me;" said Leon, "I'm just gonna go grab an icepack." He hobbled out of the room to get said icepack.

"How do we handle this?" asked Jill, "In over sixty years there has never been a traitor in the Bureau." "We handle it quickly and quietly," said Max, "Whoever the mole is, I don't want him or her to know that we suspect him or her."

Steve was about to say something when Violet came running into the room. "Virgil!" exclaimed, "Virgil! I need to talk to you!" "Remember," whispered Max, "Nobody else knows." "What is it Violet?" asked Virgil, "And shouldn't you be studying?" "I was," gasped Violet as she tried to regain her breath, "But this morning I had a 'brain-blast,' and I had to tell you about it."

"Well I'm all ears," said Virgil. "I thought you were all eyes," said Steve. "Watch it or you'll be no ears, no eyes and no nose!" threatened Virgil, "Now what is it Violet?" "I've figured out why the fusion reactor we've been working on isn't working." "Now I'm all ears," said Virgil eagerly, "Please tell me."

_'Tell him!"_ said Fay's voice in Violet's head, _'Go on, tell him!' I'm getting there!_ Thought Violet, _Don't interrupt me!_ "Well," said Violet, "I was studying for the test, and I closed my eyes for a minute because they were dry from all the studying, when it hit me: The reason why the fusion reactor isn't going past the break-even point is due to the fact that the design itself is flawed." "You're serious?" asked Virgil, "Because everyone who's worked on this project says that the design works."

"Well they're all wrong," said Violet, "We need to throw the current design into the trash and start over from scratch," she handed Virgil several pieces of paper which were covered in complicated drawings, "I've taken the liberty of doing so."

Virgil then looked at Violet's designs for a new fusion reactor, "Yes," he said in an amazed voice, "Yes, this could work." "When do we start building it?" asked Violet. "Hold on," said Jill, "You're not building anything until you pass that test, which I might add takes place the day after tomorrow." "Screw the test!" exclaimed Violet, "I've done enough studying, my brain feels like it's about to explode. Besides, there are more important things than being declared financially mature."

"Like what?" asked Jill. "Like solving the energy crisis," said Violet, "Besides, I can always take the test again." "She has a point," said Max. "Two points," said Virgil as he continued to look at the plans, "But Jill also has a point, you need to pass this test so that your inheritance becomes yours before that creep Olaf tries to get it again."

"I know you're right," said Violet, "But I've finally achieved my dream, I've invented something that can benefit the world, the whole world." "I'm sure it will," said Virgil, "But let's face the facts; it'll take at least a month to get the design fully incorporated into the computer. Then we need to run a barrage of tests to get any bugs worked out, the Department of Energy will never let us build a real one until we've run at least 100 virtual simulations. So what's two more days?"

"Okay then," said Violet, "But answer me this, once we've gotten the green light from the government, how long will it take to build the real thing?" "Assuming we can get the proper funding and resources," said Virgil, "I estimate that a working prototype can be built in six to ten months."

"Funding will not be a problem," said Violet, "I can promise you that once I am declared financially mature, I'll fund the project myself if I have to." "But first you have to pass the test," said Jill, "So get to studying!" "I'm going already!" complained Violet as she left the room. "Relax," said Max, "She's a teenager, they're supposed to rebel." "We're we ever like that?" asked Jill, "Rebellious I mean?" "Probably," said Max, "I really don't remember."

"Hey Max," said Steve, "About the traitor," "Assuming there is a traitor," interrupted Virgil. "Well if there is one," said Steve, "Let me deal with him or her, in my own way." "That's fine with me;" said Max, "Just make sure you find the mole without him ore her knowing that you're looking for him/her."

"Trust me," said Steve, "The mole will never know what hit him/her. And when I find the traitor, I'll introduce him/her to 'The Hard Goodbye.'" He turned to leave the room, but slammed into the closed door. "Damn it!" exclaimed Steve. "Open the door first!" exclaimed Virgil, "you can be so stupid sometimes for crying out loud." "Oh I hope I didn't brain my damage!" said Steve.

The end of chapter 20. Next time, Violet finally takes the text that will determine her future. See you next time!


	21. Chapter 21: Financial Independence

Last time, Max discussed with Leon, Jill, Virgil and Steve the possibility that there's a mole in the bureau, a mole that is passing information to Olaf. Steve asked Max that he'd be the one who deals with the traitor. Meanwhile Violet had a 'brain-blast' concerning the fusion power project she and Virgil were working on. On with the show!

Chapter 21: Financial Independence

"Is Violet done yet?" whined Steve. "She'll be finished when she's finished," said Jill, "Not one second sooner or later." The day had finally arrived for Violet, for she was currently being tested to determine if she could be financially mature. "But I'm bored," whined Steve, "Why do I have to be waiting with you, Klaus and Shawn?"

"That's a good question," said Shawn, "One I have no answer for." "You are here to provide protection in case Olaf tries something desperate," said Jill. "So how much longer is the test going to take?" asked Klaus. "The actual test should be done by now," said Jill as she checked her watch, "While the test is graded, a review board is currently interviewing Violet to 'get to know the real her,' so to speak."

Just then Violet left the testing room. "Well?" asked Shawn. "It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," said Violet as she untied her hair, which she tied up before taking the test. "How did you do?" asked Shawn, "Are you Financially Independent yet?" "I won't know until tonight," said Violet.

"Damn pencil pushers," said Steve, "They always tend to drag things out." _'Ignore him,'_ said Fay's voice in Violet's head_, 'he always talks, but he never says anything, well, never anything important. Anyway, you did great.' I'm amazed you didn't try to help me, _Thought Violet, _Being that you're somewhat a part of me now. _

_'I've never cheated on a test,'_ said Fay, _'and I have no intention to start. Besides, I won't be attached to you for much longer, assuming Virgil comes through.' From what I know about him,_ thought Violet, _Virgil has never failed to pull through for his friends. 'Then we're lucky to be his friends,'_ said Fay.

That night found Violet, Jill and the others anxiously waiting at Jill's newly restored apartment. It was 7:18 p.m., Violet should know, she kept looking back and forth between the clock and the phone. "The way you look right now," said Jill, "Your expression, it reminds me of Andrew Carpenter somewhat."

"How so?" asked Violet. "He was obsessed with time," said Jill, "He checked his watch at least three times a minute, and had all the clocks in his house realigned every day. Even when we made love he kept glancing at his watch. Which reminds me, you asked me if Andrew was related to the bounty hunter Sally-Ann Carpenter. He is; she is, was his cousin."

"Andrew had a cousin?" asked Max; he just happened to hear the last bit Jill said. "Yes," said Jill, "And that bounty hunter Sally-Ann, her father was the brother of Andrew's father." "I didn't know that," said Max, "I really haven't thought about Andrew for a long time. I remember he had the best pair of hands the Bureau had ever seen; he could fix anything mechanical."

"He also was a genius with explosives," said Leon, "He could make and take apart a bomb in the blink of an eye. He had this huge gun that fired a 50 caliber slug with such power, even if the built missed the target, the air displacement would do serious damage to the target." "His one flaw was his obsession with time," said Max, "Steve may believe that the greatest and worse sin man can commit is the betrayal of another's trust; Andrew believed that to lose track of time was the worse possible sin."

"To lose track of time is no sin," said Maria, "Humanity existed for thousands of years with a simple concept of time and without complex methods of keeping track of it. No, the worst sin a person can commit it to lose faith; faith in God, faith in your friends, faith in what you believe in and faith in yourself."

Just then the phone rang. Everyone went silent as Jill answered the phone. "It's for you Violet," said Jill as Violet picked up the phone. There were a few moments of silence before Violet said in a somber voice, "Yes, I understand, thank you." She hung up the phone.

"Well?" asked Shawn as everyone else looked with baited breath. "I passed!" exclaimed Violet as she burst into smile. The room exploded with shouts of 'Congratulations!' and "Well Done!' "You did it!" exclaimed Jill, "Now that creep Olaf can't touch you or your money!"

"A multi-billionaire at 15," said Laura, "Only in America." "What are you going to do with all that green?" asked Steve. "I haven't thought about it that much," said Violet, "I've been so busy studying. But I do know this," she looked at Virgil, "As I promised, and as soon as I can get my own checkbook, I'm donating $15,000,000 to fund our fusion power project. That should get the new design up and running much faster." "Violet," said Virgil, "The day you were born was a great day for science."

Some time later Violet managed to meet up with Shawn alone on the balcony. "I had this made for you," said Shawn as she handed Violet a small black box, "I had high hopes you'd pass and you did, so open it." _It's too big to be a ring,_ thought Violet as she opened the box. _'Of course it's not a ring!'_ said Fay, _'you're what 15, and he's 17? Neither of you are old enough to vote yet, so you're definitely too young to get married.'_

_You really know how to spoil the moment Fay_ thought Violet, _'I have my moments,'_ said Fay. Violet opened the box to reveal a silver pendant on a gold chain. The pendant had symbols etched into it, the kind Violet had never seen before. "It's beautiful," said Violet as she held the pendant in her hand.

"Not as beautiful as you are," said Shawn as he fastened the chain around Violet's neck, "Those are Celtic symbols, each chosen to ward off evil spirits and demons. There's an inscription on the back." Violet turned the pendant around to see the words:

'You are the light of my world,

I'll love you to the end of time

Shawn'

"You mean it?" asked Violet. "Indeed," said Shawn, "I've never meet anyone like you Violet, and if I were given the choice, I'd give up being a Rambler for you. I'd even give up my powers. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, no matter how long that is."

"Oh Shawn," said Violet as she embraced him, "I feel the same way; I'd give up every penny I own, I'd surrender my knack for inventing, if only I could be with you. But I have nothing to give to you as you have given to me." "You need to give me anything," said Shawn, "Just to be with you is enough." They kissed long into the night, or would have if Jill didn't interrupt them.

"Sorry to interrupt this tender moment," said Jill, "But the Bureau just called Virgil; Fay's clone body is ready." "And I thought this night couldn't get any better!" said Violet. _'Amen sister!'_ exclaimed Fay, _'I'd thought I'd never get out of here!' What's wrong with my mind?_ Thought Violet_, is it too cramped for you. 'It's okay,'_ said Fay, _'If you like studio apartments. Me, I like my space.'_

The end of chapter 21. Next chapter, Fay's soul is finally transferred out of Violet. See you next time!


	22. Chapter 22: New Life

Last time Violet took and passed the test, now she is financially independent. Later on, Shawn gave Violet a pendant symbolizing his everlasting love for her. To make the day complete, Violet was informed that Fay's new clone body was ready. On with the show!

Chapter 22: New Life

The next day Violet found herself down in one of the Bureau's many labs. She was sitting on a long metal table, and to her left, on another table was the clone body of Fay Valentine. Fay's body was about 5'6"; she had brown hair with blue streaks. "Those streaks are natural," said Virgil, "No more hair dying." "I'm sure Fay appreciates the offer," said Violet, "But I believe she thinks something is wrong with her new body."

_'Damn right something's wrong with it!'_ exclaimed Fay, _'That body can't be more than 20 years old Llast time I checked, I was 23 when I died!'_ "She says you got the age wrong," said Violet. "I figured you'd say that," said Virgil, "I made her new body slightly younger so she could have more time to enjoy her new existence." _'Well,'_ said Fay_, 'you got to admit, I'm one hot Meta-Human.'_

"So what do I do?" asked Violet. "That's where I come in," said Maria, "I researched a ritual for resituating misplaced souls. Just lie down, and leave everything to me." "We'll be right here for support," said Jill as she, Max, Steve, Laura, Shawn, Sunny and Klaus and Aaron waited on the other side of the lab, "So good luck."

Max, Steve, Laura and Aaron each wished Violet luck, then Klaus and Sunny wished her luck. Shawn didn't say anything; he just kissed her deeply. "Is that for luck?" asked Violet. "That," said Shawn as he kissed her again, "And that was for me. I see you're wearing your pendant." Indeed Violet was, "I'm never taking it off," said Violet, "For more than one reason." _'Could we get a move on,'_ complained Fay, _'not that I enjoy having a front row seat to your love life, but I'm anxious to be in my own flesh again.' You and me both,_ thought Violet, "What are we waiting for?" she said, "Let's light this candle!"

Meanwhile Sally-Ann, Zack and Michael had returned from another stint of searching for Olaf. They met up with Julie and Tyler. "I'll tell you boys," said Sally-Ann, "The sooner we find and kill that creep Olaf, the better." "For once," said Julie, "We're in agreement." "Now girls," said Zack, "Just because our two groups hate each other, doesn't mean that we can't get along for a few more days," he stepped ahead of the others, "I mean, how many places can Olaf hide in the city we haven't checked yet? Guys? Hello? Am I talking to myself today?"

He turned around to see the fallen forms of Sally-Ann, Michael, Tyler and Julie, each stabbed in the chest. "Oh my god!" exclaimed Zack as he saw the one who stabbed the others. The last thing Zack ever heard was the traitor say, "Tell me Zack, you ever dance with the devil in the pale moon light…?"

Back in the lab, Maria was ready to begin the ritual. "One more thing is needed," said Max. He placed an object in the clone's hands, a long knife in a leather sheaf. "Her favorite blade," said Max as he joined the others. "Are you ready Violet?" asked Maria. "I've been ready for a while now," said Violet, "Let's do it." "Good," said Maria as she began; "Let the one whose _katra_ has been displaced be removed from her temporary housing! Let her living soul find peace and happiness in her new home!" Maria placed one hand over Violet and the other over Fay's clone body. "That's it?" asked Steve.

As if to answer his question, Maria's body began to glow in multi-shifting colors. _'Okay,'_ said Fay, _'this is just plain weird. I feel like I'm being sucked into a vacuum cleaner.'_ Violet was feeling something weird as well; as if something was being sucked from her body. She cried out in both pain and relief as something shot out form over her heart, something that glowed like gold.

The glowing thing, which was in fact Fay's _katra_, moved up into Maria's outstretched hand. It traveled up her arm, over the shoulders, and down the other arm. The _katra_ emerged over the clone's heart, and was absorbed into the body. With the ritual complete, Maria stopped glowing. She collapsed from the effort. "Wow!" gasped Maria, "What a trip!" "She's fine," said Max as he, Steve, Virgil and Laura checked on Fay.

"Are you alright?" asked Shawn. He, Jill, Klaus and Sunny were standing over Violet. "I'm a little tired," said Violet, "And I have this strange feeling of emptiness inside me." 'No wonder,' said Sunny, 'You just had a spare soul sucked out of you.' "You'll be fine," said Aaron as she finished checking her stats, "A good night sleep and you'll be right as rain again, excuse me."

Aaron then began to check on Fay. "How long until we know if it worked?" asked Laura. As if to answer her question, Fay spoke in a whisper; "Perhaps you should check your watches, see if they match up." "Fay!" exclaimed Steve, "You're back!" "I never left, you oversexed, hyperactive numbskull," groaned Fay as she opened her eyes, eyes Violet saw were dark brown, almost black.

"Tell me Max," said Fay, "What happened to the mission? Is Voldemort dead?" "Dead as dead can be," said Max, "Harry Potter reduced him to a pile of ashes." "That's good," said Fay as she tried to sit up. "Easy now," said Aaron, "You've been through a rough time, your katra needs time to adjust to its new body." "I feel like I just upgraded from a studio apartment to a 40 room mansion," said Fay.

She sat up on the table and saw Violet. They looked at each other. Then Fay shook her hand, "I've been looking forward to seeing you through my own eyes," said Fay. "Good to meet you in the flesh," said Violet.

This would make a happy ending. If you are the type of reader who prefers happy endings, stop reading this story right now.

You're still reading I see. I must warn you, it gets rather depressing from here on, so once again, stop reading if you don't like unhappy endings.

I see then, well, read on if you dare.

Just then, when everything seemed to be going so well, the lights went out, casting the lab into utter darkness. "What the f#ck?" exclaimed Steve. "Who forgot to pay the electricity bill?" shouted Aaron. "OW! That's my foot!" shouted Laura. "Someone's touching me!" exclaimed Fay. "Sorry," said Steve, "My bad."

"Just relax people," said Max, "The backup generators should kick in any second!" There was about a minute of silence before the lights came back on. "That wasn't so bad," said Max as his eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness, "Probably a fault in the electrical grid…Oh F#ck!"

Violet looked around to see the source of Max's curse. To her shock and horror, Olaf stood in the middle of the room. With him was his usual running crew: The bald guy with all the pimples, the thin guy with hooks for hands, the two women with really pasty faces; and the really tall person who Violet could never tell if it was a man or a woman.

To complete her horror, Violet could see that Klaus was in the clutches of the hooked handed man; Sunny in the grasp of the man/woman person, Shawn with a knife to his throat by the pimple man, and Jill being held by the pasty women. "Well hello Violet," said Olaf, "I've missed you so."

The end of chapter 22. I warned you that things weren't going to turn out happy. Next chapter, it's 'do or die' as Violet is forced to make a difficult decision. Meanwhile, the traitor is unmasked. See you next time!


	23. Chapter 23: The Traitor Revealed

Last chapter Fay's katra was removed from Violet and transferred successfully into her new clone body. That would have made a happy ending, but then this story would have been over and you wouldn't be reading this. Long story short, the lights went out, and when they came back on, well, see for yourself. On with the show!

Chapter 23: The Traitor Revealed

Just then, when everything seemed to be going so well, the lights went out, casting the lab into utter darkness. "What the f#ck?" exclaimed Steve. "Who forgot to pay the electricity bill?" shouted Aaron. "OW! That's my foot!" shouted Laura. "Someone's touching me!" exclaimed Fay. "Sorry," said Steve, "My bad."

"Just relax people," said Max, "The backup generators should kick in any second!" There was about a minute of silence before the lights came back on. "That wasn't so bad," said Max as his eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness, "Probably a fault in the electrical grid…Oh F#ck!"

Violet looked around to see the source of Max's curse. To her shock and horror, Olaf stood in the middle of the room. With him was his usual running crew: The bald guy with all the pimples, the thin guy with hooks for hands, the two women with really pasty faces; and the really tall person who Violet could never tell if it was a man or a woman.

To complete her horror, Violet could see that Klaus was in the clutches of the hooked handed man; Sunny in the grasp of the man/woman person, Shawn with a knife to his throat by the pimple man, and Jill being held by the pasty women. "Well hello Violet," said Olaf, "I've missed you so."

"How?" asked Jill, "How did you get in here? The Bureau's internal security systems would have alerted us if someone tried to enter without going through the security checkpoints." "It's simple," said a voice from behind Olaf, "I let them in." The speaker emerged to reveal himself to be Lance.

"So you're the traitor!" exclaimed Max. "I knew there was something wrong with him!" exclaimed Steve, "The little chicken-sh$t bastard!" "Yes," said Lance, his face showing no emotion, "I've been passing information to Count Olaf as to our attempts to capture him. And today, I sabotaged the internal defenses. My crowning achievement, I just killed Julie, Michael, Sally-Ann, Zack and Tyler."

"No!" exclaimed Aaron, "My brother isn't dead! He can't be dead!" "Well he looked dead when I pulled my energy blade from his gut," said Lance, "So he must be." "But why?" asked Laura, "What reason would convince you to join with this madman?" "I bet it was all for the money!" said Virgil. "It's not that simple Virgil," said Lance, "Yes, I did it partly for the money; $20,000,000 to be exact. But it's more than just the money. This whole organization is hypocrisy incarnate. You Ramblers believe you're making a difference by killing demons and the like. But in the long run, it doesn't matter how many zombies or demons are killed, mankind is doomed, one way or another."

"And I thought you were pessimistic Aaron," said Steve. "So you sabotaged the Bureau defenses," said Max, "An act of treason itself; followed by murdering your fellow Meta-Humans and set the rest of us, now that's really f#ck#d up. You really are a crock of sh$t." "Don't bother trying to talk to him Max;" said Steve, "This sack of pig vomit isn't worth our time."

"As much as I enjoy listening to you freaks babbling," said Olaf, "There is business to be done." He approached the table Violet had been on earlier and placed a pen and a single sheet of paper on it. "What's this?" asked Violet. "This," said Olaf, "Is my ticket to the Baudelaire fortune, or rather your fortune Violet. With your name on this document, every cent you own shall belong to me."

"I would rather die than hand over a single penny to you!" exclaimed Violet. "I thought as much," said Olaf, "That's why I've taken hostage the people you care about the most. Now, if you don't sign the document, one of your beloved ones shall die. But who shall it be; Your foster mother? your brother? your monkey of a sister? Or perhaps your boyfriend?"

"If you do anything to hurt them," started Violet, but was interrupted by Olaf, "Oh Violet, Violet, Violet, Violet. You still haven't learned that life is cruel and merciless." He placed his hand on Violet's shoulder, but then recoiled in pain as his hand began to smoke.

"I guess the pendant I gave you also works on really bad actors as well," said Shawn. "It seams that while I can't harm you personally," spat Olaf as he clutched his burnt hand, "I can still harm your pathetic siblings and your friends. And you are in no position to do anything to stop me." "But we are," said Max as he and Steve pulled out their guns, while Virgil removed his sunglasses to reveal his laser beam shooting cyber eyes.

"You won't risk it," laughed Olaf, "You freaks won't take the chance that you're slower than my associates." "Well I know I'm faster than any of your ugly minions," said Fay as she readied her blade, "I'm gonna sheath my knife in your blood!"

"What makes you think you can stop me?" asked Olaf. "Because I have to," said Fay, "When I was in Violet's body I unintentionally shared her memories; I experienced the pain she felt when she learned her parents were dead; I experienced every misery you and your f#ck$ng lackeys inflicted on her and her siblings. I cannot forgive such treatment. There is only one course of action I can take, that I must take; I must kill you!"

She leapt down from the table, only to have her legs give out from under her. This caused a roar of laughter from Olaf and his crew. "Oh crud," said Maria, "I forgot to say that there would be some side affects from the transfer, you won't be in fighting condition for at least 24 hours." "Now she tells me!" exclaimed Fay.

"Now that that is out of the way," said Olaf, "What is it going to be Violet? Your money, or your friends?" "Don't do it Violet!" said Shawn, "I'm not worth it!" "Oh but you are," said Lance, "I heard you last night Violet, you said that you'd give up everything for Shawn, including your fortune. Well Violet? Your money or the love of your life?"

Violet didn't know what to do; either way she chose, she'd lose. Fortunately she didn't have to make that choice. "STOP!" everyone looked to see Julie standing at the doorway, her hand clutching a hastily bandaged wound at her side. "I thought you said you killed the others!" exclaimed Olaf. "I did!" exclaimed Lance, "Or atleast I thought I did."

"A word of advice Lance," said Julie as she limped into the room, "Next time you decide to stab your comrades in the back; don't walk away from them until you're sure they're dead!" "What about my brother and the others?" asked Aaron. "Zack is dead, but Tyler's gonna be fine," said Julie, "And so is Michael and, unfortunately, Sally-Ann." Julie then turned to face Max, "You should give D.P. more credit, he's a good medic, and I wouldn't be standing here if he wasn't."

She limped into the middle of the room and glared at Olaf, "I'm only gonna give you this one chance; surrender or you and your minions will most assuredly be killed." "You can't be serious!" exclaimed Olaf as he and his crew laughed, "You're barely able to stand up! And besides, you're not even armed!"

"That's where you're wrong you pathetic excuse for a human being," said Julie, "I'm always armed." Quick as lightning Julie's pistols released from their spring-loaded catches on her arms and popped into her hands. With her left gun Julie aimed at the pimple face man and shot him in the head right between the eyes, thereby releasing Shawn. Julie then whirled around and shot the man/woman person in the throat with her right-handed gun. It clutched at its bleeding neck, dropping Sunny.

As Julie fired again with her left, hitting the man/woman person in the head between the eyes, Laura caught Sunny with her mind and saved her from crashing to the floor. Meanwhile Jill took advantage of all the shooting to free her self from the pasty-faced women. She reached behind one of them and snapped her neck. Max had already snapped the neck of the other. Shawn, having regained his balance, used his mind to release Klaus from the hold of the hook-hand man. With Klaus out of danger, Shawn forced the hook-hand man to stab himself in the heart.

Steve meanwhile saw that Lance was trying to get away. Faster than the eye could see, Steve jumped across the room, blocking Lance from the doorway. Lance tried to power up his energy sword, but Steve grabbed his sword arm. He squeezed, forcing Lance to drop his sword. Steve didn't stop with that; he kept applying pressure until the bones in Lance's forearm broke.

"I should have known it was you Lance," said Steve, "We trusted you, and you broke that trust!" Before Lance could say or do anything, Steve had grabbed hold of him by the head. He then delivered 'The Kiss of Death,' right on Lance's lips. Steve then squeezed Lance's head until his skull broke and his eyes popped out in a bloody mess. "Now you know the fait of traitors," said Steve as he dropped Lance's lifeless form to the floor.

"Is everyone alright?" asked Max. "A little shaken up," said Jill, "But nobody hurt." "Nobody that matters," said Laura as she examined the dead remains of Olaf's crew. "You were right Steve," said Virgil, "There was something wrong with Lance." "What was wrong with Lance," said Maria "Was that he lost faith in the human spirit." "That," said Max, "along with falling in with the wrong crowd."

"Something's wrong," said Violet, "Where's Olaf?" "Son of a bitch got away again!" exclaimed Laura. "He hasn't gotten away yet!" shouted Max, "Steve, Jill; check the elevator! Aaron, head to the sickbay; check on Sally-Ann and the others! Virgil, get Julie and Fay to sickbay as well! Shawn, stay with Violet and the others! Laura, you're with me!"

The Ramblers spread out throughout the base, searching for Olaf. It was Jill and Steve who saw Olaf entering the elevator to the upper level of the Bureau. Before they could do anything to stop him, the elevator door closed, Jill could see Olaf smirking just as the door shut. "He's on the elevator to the upper level!" shouted Jill into her communication device.

Within thirty seconds Max and Laura were with Jill and Steve. "Can we recall the elevator?" asked Laura. "I tried," said Steve, "Lance must have sabotaged the recall buttons." "I tried to call the upper level security," said Jill, "But the phones to up top aren't working." "Supply elevators?" suggested Jill. "No," said Max, "They're too slow. The stairs then!" They four Ramblers headed for the emergency stairs to the surface, hoping against hope to get there before Olaf could get away.

The end of chapter 23. Next chapter the chase is on. Will Olaf get away again? And if he doesn't, who gets to kill him? See you next time!


	24. Chapter 24: The Chase

Last time found Violet in a most difficult position as Olaf had infiltrated the Bureau. As it turns out, Lance is the traitor; he's the one passing information to Olaf. Olaf then forced Violet to choose; either sign over to Olaf her inheritance or watch as her loved ones die. Julie answered for Violet as she killed two of Olaf's minions. Jill, Max and Shawn dispatched the rest. However, Olaf managed to evade capture again. On with the show!

Chapter 24: The Chase

"Something's wrong," said Violet, "Where's Olaf?" "Son of a bitch got away again!" exclaimed Laura. "He hasn't gotten away yet!" shouted Max, "Steve, Jill; check the elevator! Aaron, head to the sickbay; check on Sally-Ann and the others! Virgil, get Julie and Fay to sickbay as well! Shawn, stay with Violet and the others! Laura, with me!"

The Ramblers spread out throughout the base, searching for Olaf. It was Jill and Steve who saw Olaf entering the elevator to the upper level of the Bureau. Before they could do anything to stop him, the elevator door closed, Jill could see Olaf smirking just as the door shut. "He's on the elevator to the upper level!" shouted Jill into her communication device.

Within thirty seconds Max and Laura were with Jill and Steve. "Can we recall the elevator?" asked Laura. "I tried," said Steve, "Lance must have sabotaged the recall buttons." "I tried to call the upper level security," said Jill, "But the phones to up top aren't working." "Supply elevators?" suggested Jill. "No," said Max, "They're too slow. Stairs then!" They four Ramblers headed for the emergency stairs to the surface, hoping against hope to get there before Olaf could get away.

"How far up do we need to go?" asked Laura as they began their run up the stairs. "It's 30 stories to the administration level," said Jill, "And another 20 to the surface." "Great," said Steve as the past fifth story up, "Good thing I work out on a Stair-Master."

At that time Olaf had made it to the upper level. Now you might be wondering why Olaf wouldn't have been tackled by a security guard for just being an intruder. Well as luck would have it, Lance had sabotaged the security systems for the upper level as well. What made it worse was that every guard in the administration level was on a break at that time. With a nasty grin on his face, Olaf strutted over to the elevator to the surface. Fate can be cruel and merciless sometimes.

Meanwhile down in the sickbay, Aaron was attending to his patients, specifically his brother. "You're going to be fine Ty," said Aaron as he attended to Tyler's wound, "You got lucky." "I don't think getting stabbed in the chest by an energy sword is what I'd call lucky," said Tyler. "You should feel lucky 'Alloy,'" said Julie, "You're alive, Zack isn't."

"'Dynamo' is dead?" asked Tyler in a shocked voice. "Dead as dead can be," said D.P., "I did what I could do, but the damage was too great. I saw the rest of you, and you could be saved." "You did the right thing D.P.," said Aaron as he moved on to tend to Michael, who was also stabbed in the chest, "Sometimes you need to make difficult decisions."

"You've changed while I was gone D.P.," said Fay, "You look like you've been 'on the wagon' for some time now." "Like you," said D.P., "My experience on Death Eater Island had a profound effect on me."

"Got room for two more doc?" asked Virgil as he, Klaus and Sunny escorted Maria and Violet into the sickbay. "What's the problem?" asked Aaron. "Exhaustion," said Maria, "Transferring a soul from one body to another really takes it out of you." "And having a soul removed from you isn't energizing either," said Violet.

"Where's Lance?" exclaimed Michael, "I'll kill him!" "Relax," said Virgil, "Steve already killed him." "Oh," said Michael in a disappointed voice, "Okay then." "What about Olaf?" asked Sally-Ann, "Did you get him?" "He managed to get to the elevator," said Virgil, "But don't worry, if there's anyone who can catch him, it's Max, Jill, Laura and Steve, I guarantee it."

Max and co. meanwhile had just past the 20th story up. "Just 10 more flights of stairs," said Jill, "Just ten more till the upper level." "Easier said then done," said Steve.

As I had said earlier, fate can be cruel and merciless. Olaf had made it to the surface, and without a care in the world, walked out of the lobby onto the streets of Washington D.C. "The fools," he said to himself, "This is but a minor setback. I shall find new cohorts to do my bidding. It won't be long before I devise a new brilliant method of obtaining the fortune. Enjoy your miniscule moment of glory Violet, for it shall not last for long!"

He walked into a side alley to escape to the next street over, not realizing that even though it was 10:00 a.m., there was nobody around on the streets within sight. Olaf reached the end of the alley, only to find that a metal gate locked it. He turned around, only to find that his path was blocked. "At last we meet," said the creature known as Man-Thing.

Meanwhile Max, Jill, Steve and Laura had reached the administration level. Bureau Head Callahan was walking by the door to the stairs when Max and co. burst through. "Where's Olaf!" exclaimed Max as he tried to regain his breath, for running up 30 flights of stairs can affect even a Meta-Human.

"What are you talking about?" asked Callahan. "Olaf is in the Bureau!" exclaimed Jill, "He's working, or he was working with Lance. Lance is, well was the traitor, and now Olaf is trying to get away!" "Could you run that by me again?" asked Callahan, "I'm not sure I heard you right." "No time!" exclaimed Steve as he hurried to the elevator to the surface. As with the first elevator, this one was sabotaged. "Great!" exclaimed Steve, "More f#ck$ng stairs." "Look on the bright side," said Laura, "Only 20 flights this time."

"Don't scream or I'll gut you like a fish!" said Man-Thing as it flashed a clawed hand at Olaf. "You have my fullest attention," said Olaf, "But I'm afraid I do not know you." "They call me Man-Thing," hissed the creature underneath its mask, "And you, 'Count' Olaf, have evaded justice for far too long now."

"Justice!" exclaimed Olaf, "I spit on the word!" "Those who spit on justice," said Man-Thing, "Often meet their fate at the hands of justice." "So you're here to kill me then," said Olaf, stating the fact instead of asking it. "Why else would I take off my mask if not to kill you," said Man-Thing as it removed its mask.

Olaf went white as he stared at Man-Thing's real face, a face I won't describe, or maybe I'm too afraid to try. "Tell me," said Olaf in a shaky voice, unable to look away from Man-Thing due to shear terror, "Will killing be bring you satisfaction? Will it give you pleasure to destroy a washed up actor turned con-artist?"

"The actual killing," hissed Man-Thing, "Will bring no pleasure to me. Everything leading up to the killing, now that will be a gas." With both clawed hands raised, Man-Thing advanced on Olaf. "You can scream now if you want," said Man-Thing closed in for the kill. And scream Olaf did.

"This place really should have more elevators," gasped Steve as he and the others continued to run up to the surface. "Just five more stories," said Jill. "What's the point," said Laura, "Olaf could be half way across the city by now." "I don't care," said Max, "I'm still gonna try."

Man-Thing sighed in content as it replaced the mask over its face. Looking down at the bloody remains of Olaf, Man-Thing dialed the secure line on its cell phone. "It is done," said Man-Thing into he phone, "by now the hell Olaf is in must seem like heaven after what I did to him."

"Are you satisfied with the challenge Olaf presented you with?" asked the digitally altered voice at the other end of the line. "Very satisfied," said Man-Thing, "and the best part of all, another fugitive from justice had been terminated." It paused as if sensing something, "Someone's coming," said Man-Thing, "I'll call you later." Man-Thing hung up the phone, unlocked the metal gate and disappeared into the streets of Washington D.C.

"We're too late," gasped Steve as he, Max; Jill and Laura left the building. "I still don't care," said Max, "Jill, and Laura will check up the street. I'll look down the street. Steve, you check the alley." Less then 5 seconds later Max, Laura and Jill came running back as they heard Steve yell "Oh My God!"

They ran into the alley to see Steve standing over a pile of torn flesh and blood. Laura naturally threw up. "You don't think," said Jill, "Can that be Olaf?" "If it isn't then it's a damn good impression of him," said Steve as he held up two bloody objects. One turned out to be a human left foot with an eye tattooed on the ankle. The other was Olaf's head, his uni-browed eyes wide in terror.

"Who could have done this?" asked Laura as she recovered from throwing up, "One of the rouge bounty hunters?" "If a bounty hunter did this," said Max, "Then he, she or they wouldn't have left the head." "Good point," said Jill. Unknown to Max, Jill, Laura or Steve, Man-thing had decided to hand around to see who was coming. "Interesting," said Man-Thing, "This merits further investigation."

The end of chapter 24. Next chapter, the end finally arrives. See you next time!


	25. Final Chapter: Moving On

Last time Max, Jill, Laura and Steve raced up the stairs to the surface, only to discover that Olaf was already dead; Man-Thing had beaten them to the kill. The story isn't over yet, so on with the show!

Final Chapter: Moving On

Upon recovering from their wounds, in less than two days no less, Sally-Ann and Michael would deliver they cytogenetically preserved head of Olaf to The Bounty Hunters Guild of America to claim the reward. They would never find out who posted the bounty on Olaf.

After splitting the reward 50/50, Michael would return to Washington to stay on a Rambler, saying that he had enough of bounty hunting.

Sally-Ann would occasionally team up with the Ramblers, but would continue as a bounty hunter until the day she'd die.

After burying his rival Zack, Tyler would continue his work on perfecting his battle armor. He would continue to be discontented with The Bureau, always on the watch for whatever he was looking for.

Julie and Sally-Ann would eventually resolve their differences. She would also stay with the Bureau, providing an incredible asset to protecting the human race. She'd replace Max as leader of the Ramblers in 2024.

Fay would never completely adjust to her new body, but she'd carry on as always.

By early spring 2008, Virgil and Violet would receive the green light from the Department of Energy to build the new model of a fusion reactor; and by 2011, their design would provide power for 20 cities worldwide.

Shawn would remain true to his word, he would love Violet until the end of time, and so would she. They would marry in 2012; have 3 children of there own, and live to a ripe old age together.

Klaus would become the official archivist for the Bureau.

Sunny would eventually learn how to talk, but would still have a special connection to Klaus and Violet.

Laura would be one of the rare few that would retire from the Bureau. She'd go into politics in an independent party; she'd run for governor of Colorado in 2036 and lose; run again in 2040 and win; be re-elected in 2044; run for president in 2048 and lose; win the presidency in 2052; get re-elected in 2056; and retire from public view in 2061.

Steve would stay on with the Bureau until his death in mid 2012, loyal to the Bureau and America to the end.

Shortly after the death of Olaf, Max was contacted by Man-Thing via e-mail, which reads as follows:

'Dear Max Kildare,

I've learned so much about you and your fellow Meta-Humans, and I thought dare I? Of course I dare to speak to you. In the short time I've known about you and the Bureau I've come to admire the work you've done in the name of justice.

Yes Max Kildare, I know all about The Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense, and all about you Meta-Humans. But don't worry; I'm well practiced at keeping secrets. After all, if the majority of the population of this world were to know that demons and Meat-Humans were real, their would be mass panic, chaos, mass destruction, and an over all loss of justice. That I cannot allow.

We are creatures of the same brand you and I Max Kildare; we both share a need to uphold justice. However, you and your fellow Ramblers are not always prepared to go all the way in the name of justice; you need an order from the President to kill an old man who scoffs at justice. You all wanted to kill Olaf; I could sense it as you came bursting out of the Bureau. Yet I doubt you or any one of your friends would have killed Olaf in cold blood without that order from the President.

Should we cross paths, I hope we can work together to uphold justice. However If we do work together, should you or any one of your friends resolve fail, should it fall to me to uphold justice, then you and your friends are no better than anyone who scoffs at justice. Should we become enemies, something I hope to avoid, then I won't show any mercy.

Until we meet in the flesh, I remain your servant in justice,

Man-Thing

The message would have a profound effect on Max, but he would never tell anyone until the time was right. He would replace David Callahan as head of the Bureau in 2024.

Jill would continue to be both a loving foster mother to Violet, Klaus and Sunny; and a Rambler until her death in 2031, fulfilling her promise to protect the human race, 'Until they nail my coffin shut.'

The Ramblers would continue their work to keep humanity safe from paranormal threats for many years to come. Agents would come and go; some Ramblers would die in combat; others would kill themselves; a few would be driven insane. But as long as there are things that go bump in the night, as long as there are those who would cover the world in darkness, there will always be someone to bump back, someone to keep the light going.

The end.

I know I said that this story wouldn't have a happy ending, but this isn't exactly what you'd call happy. It's more of a profound ending. Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed reading the story as much as I've enjoyed writing it. Until the next story that pops into my head…

AndrewK9000


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